Fate-Titan
by MementoMori115
Summary: Counter Guardian EMIYA lives a cursed life. After making a deal with Alaya, he now must spend eternity in her service, killing all who she deems a threat. But when a mysterious presence known only as the 'observer' offers him a way out he winds up getting sent to a world besieged by giants. Does he have what it takes to survive? -Rated T for violence and language
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Was reading the AoT/SnK manga then I stopped to watch the Fate/Stay Night, Unlimited Blade Works movie when I was hit by inspiration. I expect this fan-fic to last roughly 3-5 chapters or 30k to 50k words. That is taking in to consideration if I actually finish it. As a side note, I'm not sure the Emiya in this story is one of his possible outcomes from any of the 'Fate's'. I am using this setup for him because I want to. Do me a favor and help point out any inconsistencies I may have failed to notice.**

 **Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!**

 **Remember to R &R**

 _Chapter 1- Sword_

 **...Before this tale begins, I offer you a question. "What is despair?" I'm sure that if you ask a hundred people that you would receive a hundred different answers. Most of which revolving around some concept of loss. Allow me to enlighten you...**

 **Despair is crushing, overwhelming, absolute... it is not something that can be overcome easily. Most think that if you pray long enough or fight hard enough that you can best despair with sheer willpower alone. Those who believe that are fools. One does not simply 'pray away' despair, nor does one surpass it with adrenaline. The only way to overcome it is to be strong, so strong that it does not even stand a chance against you.**

 **Life is not like a story... witnessing your allies get harmed does not allow you to draw upon hidden strength through anger, it simply makes you reckless. Praying to some higher power does not mean a miracle will occur. The more you struggle against despair, the more it will crush you beneath its influence. Having faith in others, praying to for a savior, hoping for a miracle... All foolish endeavors. These are simply the catalyst from which despair forms.**

 **So I ask you again; "What is despair?" Despair is hope, faith, and other fine delusions.**

 **(-)**

It was late one evening in a rural village in central Europe. In this modern age, it was rare to encounter a village such as this. Had someone from a more urban area visited this village, they might mistakenly think that they had stepped back in time. Roughly a dozen houses were scattered about the village. The walls were built from cobble-stone with wooden roofs, and from the looks of it they were all built by hand. A single poorly maintained dirt road that lead from the center of town and winded its way across a nearby field was the only noticeable connection to the world outside the village.

On the opposite side of the village was another field that was topped by a small hill. The field played host to an almost innumerable amount of red and white roses, white being the more prominent color. With the sun setting on the horizon, it painted the sky a beautiful hue of pink and orange. A brisk evening breeze floated across the flower field and crept its way up the small hill where a lone figure stood tall. The breeze however, did not carry with it the sweet fragrance of the roses. Instead it carried a more sickly scent, the metallic aroma of blood. The roses were not red of their own volition, they had been forcibly dyed with blood, the source being the scattered bodies that now lay hidden beneath the cover of the flowers themselves. Each prone body had a large sword protruding from them. They each stood tall in the ground, acting as gravestones for their unfortunate victim. Approximately twenty-six bodies, man, woman, and child, all lay dead in the field.

The lone figure stood atop the hill with his back to them. In front of him -on the other side of the hill- lies another field. This one however was barren of life. Instead of numerous flowers, this field had weapons sprouting from the ground. Swords of all kind, katana, scimitar, claymore, rapier, saber, khopesh, broadsword, short-sword, if it was a sword it was there. This did not concern the man as they were there from his own actions, the man currently had his attention focused on the other individual who was kneeling before him. The standing figure wore black armor with a red shroud, his skin was tan and his hair was white as snow. Steel grey eyes gazed upon the the hooded man before him. Blood was flowing out of his mouth and his eyes became increasingly cloudy. Stuck in the mans chest was a slightly curved blade of Chinese origins. The white haired man pulled on the swords handle and ripped it free from the dead mans chest. As the sword disappeared into motes of light, the body fell over. Counter Guardian EMIYA did not care to remember what the poor sob's name was, as he was just another in a long line of many who have died at his hands. Another magus who was getting a little too close to the Root for Alaya's comfort.

Having completed his duties as a Counter Guardian, EMIYA was granted a few moments of true sentience before he disappeared. "Just another body on the pile..." he sighed disdainfully. EMIYA has long since cursed his fate, forever in service to Alaya. He wished for nothing more than freedom from his eternal hell, freedom that he very well knew would never come. He had one chance to end it all, and he failed. Summoned as the Servant Archer during the fifth Holy Grail War, he set about trying to kill his younger self. This only ended in failure and thus led to deeper despair.

' _I would give anything to be freed of this torment, but I've nothing left to give.'_ he thought as he turned his gaze to the setting sun. There was once a time that he would be able to find joy from observing such a beautiful sight, but that was a long time ago.

" **Anything huh?"**

"Who's there?" EMIYA quickly spun around in search of whoever the voice belonged to. It was an unnatural distorted voice that sounded both young and old, male and female, kind and wicked, all at the same time. As he scanned his surroundings he saw nothing.

" **You wish to know who I am?"** the voice asked inquisitively.

"Where the hell are you hiding?" EMIYA demanded of the seemingly disembodied voice.

" **Perhaps you should wait for me to answer one question before you ask another. It is quite rude you know."** the voice replied back.

EMIYA took a deep breath and started over. Whoever this voice belonged to didn't seem to be hostile, just annoyingly smug. "Very well, would you mind telling me who you are?" he said with all the composure he could muster.

" **Ah, that's much better. Politeness is such a rare commodity and it is quite a treat to encounter someone who is familiar with it."**

EMIYA simply remained quiet, waiting for the voice to continue.

" **As for who I am, that's quite a complicated question to answer. I have been referred to by many names over the course of time. Some call me God, others call me Devil, some think of me as a savior of life whilst others believe me to be Death itself. All of them are wrong. I am but an observer, one who watches over all of existence."** the voice elaborated rather eloquently.

EMIYA was not amused by the voices rambling but payed attention nonetheless.

" **Hmm, you're not going to interrupt me? Stop me and call me out on what I just said?"** the voice asked curiously.

EMIYA merely remained impassive in his response. "Is there a reason for me to interrupt? Am I supposed to?"

" **I suppose not, it's just that every time I converse with your kind they can't help but demand I clarify just who I am. Hahh, it truly has been quite some time since I spoke with someone as civilized as you. I find it to be rather enjoyable. In the beginning I would find amusement from the over the top reactions of your fellow man, but as the years went on I got bored with that. Forgive me if I seem to prattle on, it seems to be a habit of mine."** the voice said apologetically.

EMIYA was internally withholding his agrrevation at the mysterious voice but he didn't let it show. He just wished the voice would get to the damn point.

" **Still nothing to say? You really are different from all the others. I think I'm starting to like you. To answer your other question, 'where the hell are you hiding' as you put it, I am not hiding."**

"What do you mean by that?" EMIYA finally spoke up.

" **As you can no doubt tell I am a rather unique being. I have no physical form. Since the beginning of time itself I simply 'was.' My own existence is a bit of a paradox. I am everywhere and nowhere, forever walking up and down the corridor you mortals call the 'passage of time.'"**

"So essentially you are able to perceive us although we are unable to perceive you?" EMIYA asked so as to clarify.

" **There is a bit more to it than that, but I suppose that's what it all boils down to. The only people who are aware of me are the ones I choose to be aware of me."**

"I'd wager that you didn't reveal yourself to me just to talk." EMIYA then narrowed his eyes in the direction of the voice. "You want something from me."

" **Picked up on that didn't you? Yes, I just happened to be watching your fight earlier and when I listened in on your thoughts I heard you say that you would give anything to be freed of your torment. Does that offer still stand?"**

"What's it to you?" EMIIYA asked with a touch of hostility in his voice. Last time he agreed to to something like this was how he ended up in his current situation.

" **No need to get hostile. I'm quite sure that you'll like what I have to offer."**

EMIYA was cautious of the mysterious voice, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to at least here him out.

" **I am offering you an out, a way for you to be freed from your eternal suffering. All you have to do is agree to my offer."**

EMIYA was a bit apprehensive at the thought, but if this was truly a way for him to escape from his servitude to Alaya he couldn't pass it up. "I'm sure that there is more to this offer of yours. You aren't going to free me just out of the kindness of your heart."

" **Perceptive aren't you? Yes, there are a few details about this offer you should know about. In order to free you I am going to send you to a different world. It is a similar concept to what you refer to as the true magic Kaleidoscope. This world in particular I have taken a keen interest in. It is a very cruel but beautiful world that is on the brink of destruction. Although I am but a humble observer I do not wish to see the light of this world snuffed out. If you agree to my offer then I will transport you to this world where you will spend the rest of your life, outside of Alaya's reach."**

"So basically you are sending me out on another quest to slaughter all those who threaten humanity. How is that different from my current situation?" EMIYA growled out in disgust. This... observer, was no different from Alaya.

" **The difference is that the enemies you will be facing are not human's. They are giant humanoid creatures referred to as Titans. They are merciless bloodthirsty monsters that want nothing more than to feast upon the flesh of man. The other difference is that with my offer, if you die you stay dead. You will still possess all your powers as a magus, but you will now be rendered vulnerable to death be it from age, illness, or injury. So, do we have a deal?"** As he finished talking a collection of motes of light began to form around the voices position. They combined together until they formed the figure of a human. Emiya instantly recognized the bright figure as being a silhouette of himself. The figure of light then held out its hand.

EMIYA took a moment to think over the observers offer. If he was telling the truth then this was the escape that EMIYA had long since desired. After what seemed like an eternity the Counter Guardian raised his hand and grasped the hand of the observer. A thin smile formed on the observers face as they shook hands.

" **Excellent choice, I'm sure this is a decision you won't come to regret."** at his words EMIYA's body began to glow and become transparent. **"One last tip, aim for the nape of the neck, the won't stay dead otherwise."**

And with that, as the sun set on the horizon turning the world to darkness, Counter Guardian EMIYA disappeared from the world entirely. The only one left atop the hill was the observer. **"Good luck kid, I'll be watching, eagerly waiting to see if you can overcome your new despair."**

 **(-)**

"Fire!" Captain Woermann ordered. Following his command, the soldiers who were operating the cannons fired directly at Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. As they did Eren quickly bit down on his hand, but just as he did he was blinded by a flash of light in front of him.

" _ **RHO AIAS!"**_ Eren heard someone call out just before the cannonballs exploded from the impact. However they didn't collide with Eren's half formed Titan skeleton, rather... something stopped them before they reached it. Whatever it was no one yet knew as there was too much smoke and dust obscuring their vision.

"Tch, me and my damn E-rank Luck. Of course the first thing that happens when I arrive is that I get shot at."

Eren heard an unfamiliar voice coming from somewhere in the dust cloud, but he had no idea who it could be as the only people who were near him were Mikasa and Armin.

"*cough* All this smoke is getting annoying."

" _Trace On"_

What followed was a sudden and powerful gust of wind that blew away all of the smoke. Everyone present had to cover their eyes from the sheer force of the wind. When the smoke finally cleared everyone was surprised by 2 things. One, the rather large Titan skeleton centered on Eren and company, and two, the presence of a new arrival who seemed to appear out of thin air. Aside from his sudden arrival, his attire was quite unusual. He wore black metal armor that was covered in a red shroud. In his hands were a pair of ornate matching curved swords.

Woermann was the first to regain his composure... to a degree. "Who the hell are you?!"

 **(-)**

EMIYA was not off to the best of starts. The first thing he sees when he materializes is several cannonballs flying straight towards him. He managed to project Rho Aias for defense but now the smoke was starting to bother him. "*cough* All this smoke is getting annoying." He casually waved his hand to dissipate the shield before uttering the most common pair of words he ever speaks.

" _Trace On"_

Light began to gather in his hands and after a moment a pair of swords appeared in his grasp. They were his go to weapons of choice, a pair of falchion styled Chinese blades called Kanshou and Bakuya. EMIYA quickly swung the blades to his sides, whipping up the wind with his strength alone, causing the smoke to clear.

As the smoke cleared he began to take in his surroundings. He was in some sort of courtyard surrounded by four stone walls. EMIYA quickly took note of all the armed soldiers that were dotted about the area, all seemingly focused on him. There were a handful up on top of the walls operating the mounted artillery while the majority were standing across the courtyard with blades drawn. They all wore the same uniform, a brown jacket with white pants and they had some sort of contraptions strapped to their waists. A patch with an emblem of roses on a shield was on each of their uniforms. All it took was a glance for EMIYA to grasp the structural concept of their swords and add them to the Blade Works. They were segmented break-away blades that were designed to flex and bend so as to make them less likely to break.

"Who the hell are you?!" In the center of them was the man EMIYA presumed to be the one in charge. He was the only one without his weapons drawn, indicative of someone who would not be participating in combat, and as such likely meant that he was the one to give orders. However his own demeanor was that of a frightened grunt straight out of boot camp. It was only subtle but given EMIYA's trained eyes, he was able to notice all of the man's nervous tics. Dilated pupils, slight shaking in the hands, and the faint bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. EMIYA could only sigh in response to the man.

"Lay down your weapons and identify yourself or we will open fire on you!" At his declaration the soldiers up on the walls began reloading the cannons.

EMIYA decided that it would be in his best interest to not make an enemy out of this worlds military. He was about to toss his weapons on the ground -he figured he should keep his magic hidden for the time being- when he heard the shuffling of footsteps coming from behind him. He spun around quickly, thinking that maybe a soldier was trying to sneak up on him, but was greeted by a surprising sight. It was a giant half formed skeleton of some sort with bits of flesh attached to it. EMIYA gazed up at its massive frame. _'How long has that been there?'_ he thought to himself. His gaze then traveled down as he saw three people taking shelter in the rib-cage of the skeleton. From their appearance EMIYA estimated that they were roughly in their mid-teens. They had the same look of confusion plastered on their faces as everyone else.

"Did you not hear me the first time?! Throw down your weapons and identify yourself or we will simply continue with the execution with you as an added target!" The timid captain ordered again, this time with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Execution?" EMIYA asked, having finally gotten some much needed exposition. It seemed that the observer had dropped him right in the middle of a Root damned firing squad.

He gazed back at the three teens taking cover in the giant skeleton. Aside from one of them, they wore they same military outfit as the rest of the soldiers that surrounded them, save for the emblem being crossed swords instead of roses. "Why the hell are you bothering to execute a bunch of brats?" EMIYA asked, his voice filled with contempt. EMIYA was not a very big fan of the killing of kids and from what the observer told him, humanity was at war with giant mindless Titan's, not their fellow man. So why were they trying to kill their own kind?

"I have no reason to answer you! This is your last warning! Now drop your weapons and identify yourself or we will kill you!" The captain shouted as he raised up his arm.

EMIYA merely let a smirk creep across his face. "Do you really think you can?" he asked, his voice filled with arrogance. EMIYA could easily think of five different ways on how to deal with cannonballs being shot at him just off the top of his head.

"What did you say?!" The captain bellowed in response, sweat rapidly forming on his brow.

"Do you? Really think? You can?" EMIYA asked again this time more slowly as he put extra emphasis on his words.

"Grr, enough of this nonsense! Fi-" The man was about to lower his arm to signal for his men to shoot but was cut-off. It took a few seconds for everyone to figure out why he stopped. As the soldiers turned their eyes to their captain, they were greeted by a surprise. The mysterious man who had shown up out of nowhere, was currently holding his blades to the captains neck. No one present had seen him move. "Captain Woermann!" several present shouted in concern.

"If you want your captain in one piece I suggest you lower your weapons." EMIYA said to the soldiers who were slowly surrounding him. They all backed off and returned their blades to their sheathes. EMIYA then turned his attention to the man in front of him. "What's the matter Woermann? You're shaking like a leaf."

Woermann couldn't even muster a response. He was afraid for his life. This unknown stranger was currently holding him hostage, swords pressed so close to his throat that every time he took a breath he could feel their sharp edge graze against his skin. "Now I'll ask again... For what reason are you killing a bunch of brats?" his voice full of contempt.

"T-The dark haired boy is Titan. He's a t-traitor to humanity." Woermann managed to stutter out.

EMIYA gave a quick glance back at the would be executionees. In the center of the three stood a dark haired boy who looked like an ordinary teenager, nothing Titan-like about him. But then again EMIYA had yet to see one of these Titans for himself so he had no way of knowing for sure. Then again the large skeleton was rather suspicious. EMIYA was quickly plotting his next move when his train of thought was interrupted by the teens.

"He's no traitor! He may be able to turn into a Titan but he was fighting the other Titan's, not us!" the girl among them shouted.

"Yeah, just because he can turn into a monster that doesn't mean he is one! He's fighting for our side!" the blonde haired boy called out as well.

' _Hmm, their response looks to be honest enough. And this 'Woermann' character seems to be the type to overreact out of fear, so maybe they are telling the truth. If that's the case then they have no reason to be executed.'_ EMIYA thought to himself.

"I'm not quite sure why, and even though I've never met them before, I trust their word more than yours." EMIYA stated calmly as he stared directly into Woermann's eyes.

"S-Siding with t-them will do you no good. All that you w-will accomplish is making an enemy out of all of humanity. Just like them." Woermann tried to threaten EMIYA but his nervous attitude made it completely ineffective.

"You know I would be a lot more intimidated if you could say that whilst maintaining your composure."

"You'll have to forgive my subordinate for that..."

EMIYA quickly turned his attention to the owner of the new voice. Standing roughly twenty feet behind Woermann, emerging from the building interior was an elderly man. He was bald, his face was covered in wrinkles, and he had a thin mustache above his lips. He wore the same uniform as the rest of the soldiers but he exuded the aura of a true commander. Clearly this man was Woermann's superior.

"He has always been as timid as a kitten and although he lacks the ability to fight on the front lines he still has what it takes to be a leader." The newcomer calmly explained as he approached EMIYA.

"And who might you be?"

"You know it's rude to ask a stranger their name without giving yours first." the older man countered.

"It seems that you are much more reasonable person than this fellow." EMIYA stated as he glanced at Woermann. "If you would be willing to call off your men then I'd happily comply." On the outside EMIYA was acting compliant but on the inside he was plotting his next moves should things go south.

"Very well then" the man replied as he raised his hand. "Everyone stand down immediately." At his orders all of the soldiers eased up and turned the cannons away. "Now if you wouldn't mind..." The man continued, gesturing towards Woermann in an unspoken request for his release.

"Sorry, but until I'm sure you guys aren't going to turn around and try to kill me I'm going to hold on to my little shield here. But I do suppose that you have at the very least earned something befitting of my trust."

"Then perhaps we could start with a name, what is yours?"

EMIYA quickly racked his brain. Over the years he has been called many things. Some more than others and even a few he had long forgotten. Shirou Emiya, Archer, faker, Servant, hero, villain, traitor, monster, fake janitor, Counter Guardian, the list goes on. After much deliberation he finally settled on one. "Emiya... my name is Emiya."

"Just Emiya? No last name?" The aged commander asked with a puzzled look on his face. Not only was it an unusual name, but to not have a last name either? The man's curiosity was peaked.

"I have been called by many names over the years. Emiya however, is the one you may refer to me as." Emiya did his best to remain somewhat mysterious so as to make himself seem imposing. This way even if he was to cooperate with these military types he would still garner caution from them. "Now then, do you plan on telling me what your name is?"

"Hmph, very well. My name is Dot Pyxis and I am the commander of the Garrison Regiment. Now let us move on to another question. How did you get here? This entire building should be off limits to civilians." Pyxis politely asked as he began to approach Emiya.

"I can't go into the exact details, but for now, let's just say that I was sent here by someone." Emiya replied cryptically.

"And just who exactly would that person be?" Pyxis questioned as he maintained his lax attitude.

"Actually I'm not quite sure myself. He didn't exactly give me a clear name, he just referred to himself as an 'observer.'" Emiya began to apply more pressure to his hostages neck so as to warn Pyxis to back off, which also elicited a quiet 'eep' from Woermann.

"Given your demeanor am I to assume you are an assassin of some sort?" Pyxis was now getting progressively more worried for his subordinates life. Whoever this Emiya fellow was, he wasn't the trusting type and that meant his actions were unpredictable.

Emiya gave a slight chuckle at Pyxis' hypothesis. "I suppose there have been times that I was called that, but that's not exactly a good representation of who I am." Emiya had to choose his next words carefully. If he was going to gain the trust of this Pyxis fellow he needed to seem sympathetic to his cause. A cause he was already familiar with thanks to the observer. "I am but a sword, a blade to be wielded against the enemy in the name of justice."

Pyxis narrowed his eyes as he let Emiya's words sink in. He could tell just from a glance that Emiya was a strong individual, unruly but strong. "And who might that enemy be?"

"Whoever it is that threaten's humanity's existence." Emiya stated coldly.

Pyxis could see the conviction in the man's eyes. As a veteran soldier who has seen much conflict, Pyxis instantly recognized the look Emiya gave him. He was a warrior, one who had seen countless battles. He was a man who had strength that well surpassed his own. In that moment Pyxis decided to make a gamble. "Humanity is at war, and we could certainly use someone like you on our side. How would you like to join us in the fight against the Titan's?" He asked as he held his hand out to Emiya.

Emiya gave a smirk at that. "Hmph" he grunted as he lowered his swords from Woermann's neck, causing the man to dash off as soon as he did. "All that fool wanted to do was shoot me. It's nice to know that someone among you is open to negotiation." Emiya stabbed his swords into the ground before reaching to shake hands with Pyxis.

"It's always nice when we can resolve conflict peacefully."

"Sure, but what are you going to do about them?" Emiya asked as he jabbed his thumb behind him, pointing at the three teens.

"Hmm, what to do indeed..." Pyxis pondered how exactly he should handle such a delicate situation. He glanced to his side and noticed Emiya giving him a fierce glare. "Oh don't worry, I won't be killing them. No, I have a better idea." Pyxis began making his way over to the teens when he stopped and turned back to Emiya. "You coming?"

Emiya simply crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "As long as you aren't going to harm them then it is none of my concern. The only thing I wish to concern myself with is disposing of the enemy. Just point me in their direction and I'll do the rest."

"Point you in their direction?" Pyxis asked confusedly. "Did you come here unaware of the fact that the town is currently under attack?"

Emiya's eyes widened at that. "What?! Do you mean to say that the enemy is right outside these walls?!" Emiya asked, his voice a mixture of concern and irritation.

"We may be towards the rear of the battlefield, but yes, the enemy is currently at our doorstep. If you'd just wait for me to finish up here we will get you properly equipped and then send you someplace where you can be of use-" Pyxis barely managed to finish his sentence when Emiya took off.

Emiya cursed himself under his breath for not noticing sooner. He quickly reinforced his body and began to jump and climb his way up the nearby wall. His impressive feat was noted by all those present. The wall was easily fifteen meters tall and Emiya managed to make it halfway up with a single leap.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Pyxis called out to Emiya who was already on top of the wall.

"My job" he simply replied before leaping to another nearby building, out of sight from those in the courtyard.

"Damn" Pyxis cursed lightly.

"Should we go after him sir?" one of the female soldiers asked. The soldier had cheek length, light blonde almost white hair, and was wearing glasses.

Pyxis scratched the back of his head as he tried to devise a plan. "Rico, see if you can catch up to that Emiya fellow and keep an eye on him."

Rico gave a quick salute before engaging her ODM gear and chased after Emiya.

"Now if you're interested, I have a plan that will allow for you to avoid military execution. As long as you are still willing to fight for humanity that is." Pyxis stated as he turned his attention to Eren and company.

 **(-)**

After reaching the rooftops, Emiya decided that it would be best for him to reach a high vantage point so that he could determine just how serious the situation was. He noticed in the distance that the city was surrounded by walls that towered over all other buildings. Figuring that that would be a good start he made his way to the nearest wall. As he leaped from rooftop to rooftop he eventually happened upon a fifteen meter tall Titan. He skidded to a halt at the edge of the current rooftop he was on as he saw the large creature slowly stand up to greet him.

Emiya gave the Titan a quick look-over. It's arms and head were both disproportionate in size, it's body looked emaciated, and it's eyes were dark and cloudy. However what caught Emiya's attention was the dead human body hanging out of the Titan's mouth.

"Tch, despicable creature." Emiya already had Kanshou and Bakuya traced in his hands, ready to dispatch the disgusting beast. The Titan brought it's hand up before swinging it down in an attempt to flatten Emiya. Right before impact Emiya sidestepped the attack and then hopped on to the Titan's arm. He then proceeded to run up the arm as he made his way to the shoulder. The Titan brought it's other arm up in an attempt to smack Emiya off of him, but Emiya simply swung his swords and lopped off all of the Titan's fingers causing steaming hot blood to spray everywhere. Emiya just shrugged off the heat as he had felt blazing fires of far greater temperature in the past. As Emiya reached the shoulder he stabbed Kanshou and Bakuya into the Titan's neck before dragging them across its nape.

Having finished his cut, Emiya kicked off of the Titan's head in order to jump to another roof. Moments later the Titan fell over dead and began to dissolve. "Well that wasn't so tough." Emiya said as he gripped his swords. Something felt off about them. _'What is this? They feel stronger than usual.'_

" **Ah, your perception never ceases to astound me."**

Emiya's ears perked up at the familiar voice. "I take it you know why that is." he responded dryly, not even bothering to search for the voices origin.

" **Why yes, you see, in this world the weapons you trace never existed in the first place. As a result their existence cannot be rejected for being copies. Those are actually perfect replicas of Kanshou and Bakuya. This means all of the weapons you project will retain their original strength and they will only disappear if you so desire them to. Are you not pleased with this?"**

Emiya gave a wry smile. "Well I'm certainly not complaining."

" **As I expected, now you better hurry. Every second you waste talking is another second the Titan's use to kill more human's."**

Emiya did not respond this time, he simply dashed off into the distance.

After about a minuet of running and jumping he finally arrived at the top of the wall. Emiya gazed out over the city from his vantage point. Normal human's would have been unable to see the exact details of the unfolding chaos, but Emiya's Clairvoyance ability allowed him to accurately view each and every Titan within a four kilometer radius. It was an ability that would allow him to make the most of his bow.

"I suppose now would be as good a time as any." Emiya held out his left hand to his side.

" _I am the bone of my sword."_

In his hand appeared a large steel bow that was black in color.

Rico had finally managed to catch up to him and she was rather livid. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! How did you get up here so fast without ODM gear?! And is that a bow?! Do you plan on shooting the Titan's with measly arrows?!"

Emiya simply ignored her ramblings as he continued his chant. He took note of every Titan that was in his line of sight. He counted twenty-seven in total scattered about the city.

" _Steel is my body and fire is my blood."_

"Are you ignoring m-" Rico instantly stopped her questioning when she noticed the large sword that suddenly appeared in Emiya's right hand. "Where did that sword come from?" She asked nervously.

" _I have created over a thousand blades."_

Suddenly the sword warped and twisted until it formed into the shape of an arrow which Emiya then notched in his bow. Rico was beginning to think she lost her mind at the sight.

" _Unknown to death, nor known to life."_

At his utterance dozens upon dozens of swords began to appear out of thin air. All of them just suspended in place above Emiya. Each one of them was a broken phantasm. Nothing overly destructive, but they would have a large enough blast to blow apart the neck of any Titan that they hit.

" _Trace bullet, fire."_

And with that he let fly his arrow, followed by the numerous blades that hung in the air.

Cold steel rained down upon the Trost district on that fateful day.

 **(-)**

Throughout the city the Garrison Regiment was making a desperate stand against the attacking Titan's. They were putting up a good fight, but it was still one that they were losing. So long as the breach remained in Wall Rose then the Titan's would continue to flood into the city.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Titan's began to drop dead all over the city. Their heads and necks just suddenly exploded in a bright flash of light, killing them instantly. No one knew who or how it was done. All that could be said for certain was that all of the Titan's died at roughly the same time and that odd looking swords impaled them just before the explosion. In an instant, every single Titan in the Trost district was killed by an unknown third party.

 **(-)**

"I think that's the last of them." Emiya stated plainly, a slight smirk plastered on his face. He felt content with his work, finally being able to play the part of a hero again.

"What... what the hell was that?"

Emiya turned his head to see the bespectacled blonde girl standing beside him, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Hmm?"

"That!" Rico yelled, pointing at Emiya's bow. "And all those floating swords?! What the hell did you do?!" she quickly reached for her blades in an attempt to threaten him in to talking.

However the threat was not necessary as Emiya easily complied. "All I did was rid the area of those Titan's." he answered nonchalantly, as if what he did was no big deal.

"Wha- you mean all those explosions..." Rico trailed off.

Emiya, picking up on what she was implying. "Yes, those were the swords I fired. Each one hit and killed a Titan and from what I can see the area is clear for now."

"How can you be so sure?" Rico asked as she narrowed her eyes. Part of her was cautious of Emiya but at the same time she was curious.

"I'm sure, because I can see clearly for up to four kilometers. Unless there is a Titan hiding somewhere, I can assure you I got them all."

"But how did you do... that?"

Emiya let a mischievous grin across his face. He simply raised a finger to his mouth and softly replied. "That is a secret." Emiya wasn't to keen on having to explain how magic worked, especially if it wasn't present in this world. The locals might be a little apprehensive of it and he would prefer to explain it as few times as possible, so he didn't want to waste his breath giving a long explanation to a single person.

Obviously Rico was not amused by his antics as she drew her blades on him. "Answers, now." her voice was deadly serious.

Emiya simply shrugged his shoulders in response. "Would you believe me if I told you it was magic?"

"No." Rico deadpanned instantly.

"Then I suppose this conversation is over." Emiya turned to survey the town again and noticed in the distance that there was a hole in the wall in which more Titan's were coming through. "Shit, do you guys have a plan to deal with that breach over there." Emiya asked as he pointed to the massive hole.

Rico, realizing that she wouldn't get anywhere with him, and that closing the hole was a priority, decided to put her questioning on hold till later. "We have a giant boulder that we can use to block it, but no way to move it to the breach. Although I believe I know how Pyxis plans to deal with it now."

"Well if that's the case, then I shall defend the entrance until the boulder arrives." and with that Emiya began his dash along the wall.

Leaving nothing but dust behind him, Rico remained frozen in shock at how fast Emiya could move on foot. After managing to regain her composure she decided that it would be best if she returned to Pyxis to report what she just witnessed.

 **(-)**

Emiya soon arrived at the point in the wall just above the hole. Tracing his bow again, he repeated the earlier process of raining death down upon the Titan's. He then proceeded to jump down to the streets below, whereupon he stood in the center road with Kanshou and Bakuya in hand. He was eagerly waiting for the next Titan to step through the breach. It didn't take long for the next Titan to arrive. It was rather short compared to the rest, only about 5 meters tall. It had an enormous head and stubby arms. Emiya had to stifle a chuckle at how ridiculous these creatures looked despite how dangerous they were. Emiya quickly kicked off the ground towards a nearby house. He landed on the wall where he kicked off again, this time flying right behind the Titan, allowing him to easily slice at the nape. The Titan fell with a thud and began its rapid decomposition.

"These 'Titan's' are quite weird." Emiya stated aloud. He was curious as to what exactly caused their bodies to react in such a way. He then turned quickly to the sound of stomping feet. this time a slightly larger Titan had made it's way through the hole. Emiya then remembered what the observer had said. **'Aim for the nape of the neck, the won't stay dead otherwise'**. So Emiya decide to do a little experiment to see what he meant. He quickly dash underneath the new Titan and sliced off its legs. Emiya then jumped to the roof of a nearby house to observe the creature. After the initial splatter of scalding blood, soon steam and smoke began to pour out of the Titan's stumps, followed by a new pair of legs.

' _So that's what he meant, they regenerate.'_ Emiya thought it would be worth it to have a body for study, and it would have to be alive seeing as how fast they decompose. He then traced several dozen large blades in the air and impaled them in the Titan's arms and legs, completely immobilizing it. Having a captured Titan would certainly get him on the military's good side as he assumed no one had been able to capture one alive before.

A familiar stomping caught Emiya's attention again. This time three more Titan's of various sizes and appearance came flooding into the city. However one of them seemed a bit... different from the rest. It's movement's were quick and erratic, almost like it was unsure of what it was doing. Emiya thought it was rather abnormal compared to the majority of the Titan's he faced so far. Emiya quickly lunged forward, intent on cutting off the creatures legs. But just before he struck, the Titan jumped up to avoid him. Emiya was momentarily caught off guard as he then looked up to see the Titan, its face no aimed downward in an attempt to bite at Emiya as it fell. However Emiya was fast, he quickly rolled out of the way and as the Titan crashed into the ground he threw Kanshou and Bakuya at the back of the Titan's neck. The blades -because of their attraction to one another, not that unlike magnets- spun around each other like a whirring helicopter blade and sliced through the Titan's nape.

Emiya was then quick to dodge the grasp of another Titan that came from his right. Emiya quickly traced his signature blades again and stabbed them into the Titan's hand. The Titan recoiled in pain and threw its hand up, with Emiya holding on via his swords. As the hand reached the apex of its ascent, Emiya released his grip as he was flung high into the air. He then noticed that he had an audience. Roughly a dozen soldiers were watching from nearby rooftops and their numbers were steadily increasing. Emiya paid them no mind as he traced his bow again.

" _I am the bone of my sword."_

Emiya reached into the air and grabbed at the newly traced arrow. It was black with edges that curved inward and outward along its length. All in all it hardly looked aerodynamic. Emiya then notched it in his bow.

" _Hrunting!"_

As he released the bow-string the arrow flew forward at an unbelievable speed. It pierced straight through the Titan's neck, killing it, but what surprised all of the onlookers was that it then made a bee-line for the other Titan's neck, killing it as well.

As Emiya landed he was awarded with scattered cheers and gasps. Obviously no one knew quite how to react to him. He let slip a smile but was interrupted by an even louder _THUMP_ of footsteps than he had heard before. He turned back to the hole to see a large Titan with short white hair and a muscular body covered in what looked like some kind of chitinous armor.

"It's the Armored Titan! Everybody run!" one of the weaker-willed soldiers screamed and then he and several others made to leave but stopped when they saw what was behind them. A large muscular Titan with shoulder-length dark brown hair. Emiya took notice of this as well, but there was something strange about it. The Titan was carrying an enormous boulder on its shoulders.

Emiya was about to take aim at it, but then he noticed the soldiers that seemed to be escorting it. It didn't take too long for Emiya to figure out what was going on. Large boulder, kid who could supposedly turn into a Titan, Pyxis' plan, Emiya put the pieces together and realized that the Titan was actually the kid from earlier and that he was going to use the boulder to seal the hole. All that was standing in his way was the Armored Titan.

Emiya turned his attention back to the Armored Titan. Judging from the reactions of those around him, this armored menace was quite infamous. This made Emiya all the more eager to test just how strong it was. He quickly materialized a couple dozen swords in the air, which he then proceeded to fire at the Titan. The Titan itself seemed to give a slight reaction of shock before swatting aside the incoming blades. A few managed to make it past the Titan's swing but they just shattered on impact with the Titan's armor. "Huh, I guess I'll need something stronger than just normal blades." Emiya began to formulate a plan. He reached out his right hand and traced another copy of the previous arrow he fired. As he did he attempted to circle behind the Titan so he could get a shot at his nape.

" _Hrunting!"_

The arrow flew forward, aimed directly at the Titan's weak-point. But the Titan quickly covered its nape with one hand. Hrunting simply ricocheted off the hard surface. "Hmm, you seem to be smarter than the rest." Emiya began to play at the idea that this Titan was fully sentient. The Titan then lunged forward and swung its fist down at Emiya.

" _Rho Aias!"_

At his command, a large translucent, flower shaped shield appeared before Emiya. The Armored Titan's fist collided with the shield and, much to every ones surprise -save for Emiya- the shield held.

As the Titan attempted to recover from the shock of its strike being blocked, Emiya was already preparing his counter attack. He held out his right hand, meanwhile the Titan began to apply more pressure to Rho Aias.

" _I am the bone of my sword."_

As he spoke, a menacing looking spear appeared in his hand. It was red like blood, had a serrated blade, and gave off an aura of bloodlust. Emiya dispersed Rho Aias, causing the armored Titan to stumble forward under the weight of his own punches pressure. As he did Emiya jumped up to be chest height with the Titan.

" _Pierce the enemy's heart, Gae Bolg!"_

And the spear did just that. As Emiya thrusted it forward, it blew a hole straight through the Titan's chest, completely shattering its armor and piercing its heart. This elicited many gasps from the onlooking Garrison Regiment.

However despite his best efforts the Titan still stood firm. Emiya did pierce its heart, but it was a small hole in a huge heart. Deciding it would be best to retreat, the Armored Titan turned and ran.

"You think I will just allow you to get away?" Emiya said with a sneer. He was beginning to enjoy toying around with these monsters, and he hadn't even used the better half of his arsenal yet. "Let's see how you fare against this." Emiya reached out his hands again.

" _Trace on."_

In his left hand appeared a bow, in his right an arrow. This arrow was different from the previous one. It was shaped like an elongated drill, the length of the arrow twisted like a spiral. He notched it in his bow and took aim.

" _Caladbolg."_

He released the bowstring, and the arrow flew. The Armored Titan had just made it beyond the hole when the arrow went straight for its neck. But just at the last second it twisted its body to the side to avoid death, however the arrow pierced straight through its right shoulder. As a result its arm was blown clean off leaving nothing but a stump.

However the arrow continued to fly forward through the air. It kept going and going, into the distance, before detonating on the horizon. A large explosion the likes of which no one had ever seen before. It was shock-wave sent a strong gust of wind ripping across the fields, uprooting some smaller trees. Then came the sound, _BOOM!_ All present had to cover their ears in pain. The Titan carrying the boulder managed to stand strong, and good thing too considering if he dropped the boulder it would crush the soldiers.

The armored Titan was gone. It broke line of sight with Emiya and Emiya himself remained put so as to continue to defend the hole, despite how angry he was at letting an opponent get away. Seeing as how there were no more Titan's in the area, Emiya cast aside his bow and approached Pyxis who he saw standing beside the rock bearing Titan. Emiya remained impassive but inside he was a mix of frustrated and content. He kept his arms folded behind his back so as to maintain a professional appearance. "The enemy has been dealt with." He said to Pyxis. He then looked up to the Titan. "I suggest you deal with that hole now."

At his suggestion, the Titan began to make for the hole. Meanwhile everyone else was shocked speechless. Even Pyxis could only manage to stare blankly at the man standing before him.

"I have also managed to capture one of them alive." Emiya gestured to the pinned Titan down the road.

Pyxis finally managed to bring himself to speak. "I... I see."

Emiya heard a loud _thud_ and turned to see the boulder was now blocking the hole. "I guess that means our work is done here. What's next?"

"What's next is an explanation."

Emiya heard a new voice call out from above. He looked up to see a short man with short black hair and a very menacing face standing on the roof of a nearby building. His eyes were narrowed at Emiya. He wore a similar uniform to the rest of the soldiers except his had a green cape and the rose emblem was replaced with a pair of wings.

Emiya could tell from a glance that the two of them would not be getting along.

 **A/N Tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- Almost a thousand views in less than a week, thanx everybody! Hard to believe this was originally just going to be a one-shot. Not sure if I'm going to do any pairings yet so I'm open to suggestions. If so I will start pairings next chapter. Don't expect me to keep up this pace.**

 **Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING**

 **Remember to R &R**

 ***Update* Changed a few things in this chapter, mainly the whole 'teaching Eren magic' thing.**

 _Chapter 2- Shackles_

The Scout Regiment was making fast tracks back to the Trost district. As they came within visual range they realized they made the right decision to return. Pillars of smoke were billowing up from inside Wall Rose and there was a rather large hole where the entrance to the district was.

Erwin Smith, commander of the Scout Regiment was leading the charge. "The town is under attack! Everybody hurry up, we need to get in there!"

"Looks like the Colossal Titan's handiwork." said the diminutive captain who was riding beside Erwin.

"That seems to be the case Levi." was Erwin's reply as he noticed the large hole in the wall.

As they grew closer to the wall, Levi noticed something large coming out of the breach. It was the Armored Titan. "You see that sir?"

"Yeah, all forces prepare for combat! It's the Armored Titan!" he shouted.

Levi gripped his blades as he was determined to kill the beast that was responsible for the breach in Wall Maria. But then he noticed something odd, the Titan seemed to be running away. "Sir, I think it-" Levi didn't get a chance to finish as a projectile shot straight through the Titan's arm, severing it completely.

All gazes in the Scout Regiment fixed on the projectile. It left behind a trail of light, and upon flying into the distance, exploded in a large blast of fire. The light was nearly blinding and as the thunderous shock-wave approached Erwin screamed. "Brace!" All the soldiers deployed their anchors into the ground to stop the shock-wave from sending them flying.

As they recovered there was a mix of shock and awe among the Scout Regiment soldiers. "What the hell was that..." asked Petra, one of Levi's squad-members.

"I have no idea, but the armored Titan got away." The group looked to see the Titan was gone, having taken advantage of the blinding blast.

The overall silence among the soldiers was broken by a rather excited Hange. "Whatwasthat?! Itwasamazing! Whatcouldhavecausedsuchanexplosion?! IMUSTHAVEONE!" Drool ran down her chin as spoke. Her comrades could only sigh in response.

"For now I would think it best we get inside to assess the situation." Erwin ordered as he regained his focus.

Whilst most made their way for the hole, Levi decided to scale the wall itself so he could survey the area from above. When he reached the top he looked down and was greeted by a strange sight. A large Titan was placing a boulder in front of the breach and he also noticed another Titan pinned to the ground in the street. Other than those two, there were no Titan's in sight. Levi could make out the bald head of the Garrison Regiments commander and decided it would be best to talk to him first.

As he swooped down with his ODM gear and landed on a nearby rooftop he noticed a rather strange looking individual. His hair was white and his skin was somewhat dark in color. He wore some kind of unusual black armor covered in a red shroud. But the thing that stood out to Levi was the way he carried himself. He attitude was that of a person who was infinitely superior to everyone around him.

"I guess that means our work is done here. What's next?" Levi heard the man casually address the commander. He then decided to make his presence known.

"What's next is an explanation." Levi stated with his standard cold tone of voice as he glared at the strange man in an attempt to intimidate him. The man simply looked up at him and gave a smirk.

 **(-)**

Emiya took note of the newcomer along with the others who were hopping over the wall as well. They were all wearing the same uniform as the short man, brown jacket, green cape, pair of wings emblazoned on them. Emiya gave a smirk at the short man, he found it amusing that he was attempting to intimidate him. But at the same time, Emiya could tell from his attitude that he was strong -at least for this world- and that he was likely a captain at the very least.

He then glanced at the blades at the mans sides, analyzing them in the process. Although all the soldiers seemed to wield the same weapons, his seemed to have the longest history among them. Emiya already knew that because the blades were designed to be broken that each blade had a rather short history for actual combat as they would just get replaced as time went on. Most that he had analyzed only had about a minuet of combat history, but this newcomer's had several. He had the skill to make the blades last.

Seeing the mans glare get increasingly more fierce, Emiya decided to finally respond. "Take it up with the commander here, I'm off duty for now." Although Emiya was putting up a strong front, on the inside he was quite tired. Just traveling to this world had taken alot out of him. Tack on the battle he had just finished before arriving as well as fighting all of the Titan's, and his prana reserves were nearing empty. He would be lucky if he still had enough prana left to trace Kanshou and Bakuya. As such he proceeded to lean up against a building and close his eyes and cross his arms. It was his way of appearing to just be jerk who had no time for talking whilst in reality he was resting.

Levi scoffed at the man but chose to ignore him. He had more pressing matters to attend to. He turned to see the boulder Titan slouched over, a young female cadet pulling an unconscious body out from its neck. The other Titan was pinned to the ground so it didn't concern Levi. He then heard the familiar _hiss_ of the ODM gear occur behind him. "No hostiles in sight commander." Levi said not even turning to see who it was. He just knew by instinct that it was Erwin. "Just an asshole." He added as his gaze turned towards Emiya.

"Hmm, so it would seem." he replied as he gazed to the other Titan's. One was pinned to the ground and the other seemed to be dead or something. Either way it was motionless. Erwin hopped down to the still somewhat shocked Pyxis. "We have returned from our expedition, what happened here?"

Pyxis shook his head slightly. "You wouldn't believe the half of it."

"OOOHH, a captured Titan for me?! What a sweet gift to return home to!" Erwin heard Hange exclaim, no doubt she was dancing over to the pinned Titan.

"What's with all these strange swords? How did they pin the Titan down? Does this have anything to do with that large explosion?" Her questions were unrelenting as she went from soldier to soldier without receiving a response. That was until she reached Rico, who was slightly less shocked then the rest of the Garrison Regiment soldiers.

"Ask the man in red." she said as she pointed to Emiya.

Emiya, although trying to tune out the outside world, heard that, and was internally cursing at now having to deal with a hyperactive girl.

Hange dashed over to Emiya as fast as possible, so fast that a few people lost sight of her. She stood right in front of him, inches from his face. Her hands making a grasping motion and drool running down her chin. "TELL ME."

Emiya cracked open one of his eyes to get a look at the girl. She had shoulder length brown hair that was tied in a ponytail and wore a pair of goggles over her eyes. Her... eccentric behavior and appearance was very off-putting to Emiya. He closed his eye again and hoped if he ignored her that she would leave. "TELL ME." He was wrong.

"Do you think yourself special?"

"Huh?" Hange replied confusedly, backing up and tilting her head to the side.

"If I have to explain myself to everyone I encounter it would be quite bothersome. I would much rather wait until I have the attention of as many as possible before I even consider wasting my breath. So why don't you run along brat." Emiya replied in a condescending tone.

"Ugh! Brat?! Who do you think you are talking to. I'm not some child, I'm captain Hange Zoe of the Scout Regiment!" she scolded as she stomped her feet like a child.

Emiya simply kept his eyes closed. "Don't care."

"Urrgh!" Hange pouted at his attitude with her cheeks puffed out. Only one minuet of knowing him and he was already reminding her of another certain captain.

"You seem to be rather interested in the Titan I captured. Just accept the gift and be done with it." Hange's mood brightened considerably at this, realizing that now she had a captured Titan to work experiment on.

"Fine, I'll leave you be... for now." she said with a wink as she strolled back over to the pinned Titan.

Emiya sighed, "Augh, annoying, loud, and childish. Who does that remind me of?" As his thoughts drifted to a certain twin-tailed magus, he was approached again.

"Excuse me sir?" Emiya heard a polite but firm voice. Realizing he wouldn't get any sleep whatsoever, Emiya opened both of his eyes. In front of him stood a tall man with blonde hair parted to both sides. "My name is Ian Dietrich, and commander Pyxis has asked me to offer you a cot in our barracks if you so desire."

The thought of a bed, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, was a welcome surprise to the former Counter Guardian. After a quick internal debate his exhaustion won out over caution. "That sounds reasonable. I think I'll take you up on that offer."

Ian then led Emiya further into town towards the barracks.

 **(-)**

"What do you mean they just 'appeared out of thin air?'" Levi asked, doubting the words of the aged commander.

"Just what I said. That 'Emiya' fellow chanted a few words and all of a sudden weapons appeared in his hands. I couldn't believe it myself. I think Rico might have a better idea as she was with him earlier. I don't know what exactly those weapons were, but they carried with them the power of the gods themselves."

"What do you mean?" commander Erwin inquired.

"He had this one weapon, a spear. I think it was called 'gale bowl' or something, and it pierced straight through the Armored Titan's chest." Pyxis said, a look of disbelief plastered on his face as he remembered what happened.

"What?! But back at the defense of Wall Maria none of our weapons even scratched it." Erwin said in disbelief.

"I'm still having a hard time believing it myself. He is a very powerful man." Pyxis took out a cloth to wipe the sweat off of his brow. Titan's aside, the day was full of unbelievable events courtesy of Emiya. And that explosion? If Emiya so desired he could have easily destroyed half of Trost with that thing.

"He's dangerous." Levi stated plainly.

"So are you." Levi turned to see Hange standing behind him. Past her he could see soldiers restraining the newly captured Titan with more anchors and chains.

"Yeah, but I can't blow up the horizon with an arrow. We need to do something about him."

"Ooh, I would love to run some tests on him!" Hange said excitedly.

"Somehow I don't think he'll comply to your requests." Erwin replied, to which Hange gave a dejected look.

"I don't think he's dangerous to us. He said he only fights those who threaten humanity." Pyxis interjected, trying to get get back on topic. "But he is rather strange, he wouldn't tell me where he came from or who exactly he is."

"Do you think he's from beyond the walls?" Hange asked.

"Possibly, for now I say we just observe him." Pyxis said as he reached for his flask and took a swig.

"Somehow I have a feeling that when the higher ups catch wind of this they'll have plans of their own." Erwin responded. He could tell from a glance that Emiya had a similar personality to Levi. Emiya would not take well to being ordered around by those he doesn't respect. That and his overwhelming power gave him an arrogance unlike anything he had ever seen before.

"Emiya aside, what's with the kid?" Levi asked as he jabbed his thumb towards Eren.

"Ahh, that's another story. One I think you'll like." Pyxis began.

 **(-)**

 _It was bright. Bright and hot. So hot that the boy thought he was on the surface of the sun itself. But he wasn't. He was on Earth, more specifically Fuyuki city. As he looked around he saw flames everywhere. Fire reaching high into the sky. The boy had to hurry, he had to move._

 _If he stopped moving he would surely die. Around him he could see the bodies of the dead, hear the cries of the dying, smell their burning flesh. His vision was going dark, he had to move._

 _Bones aching, muscles screaming, blood boiling from the heat. He couldn't remember what had happened, only that there was some sort of explosion and then everything was burning. His body was giving out, he had to move._

 _Try as he might he was only a child and eventually his body gave out. As he fell he looked up at the sky and thought, 'is this despair?' His vision began to fade when he heard a voice. "A survivor? Thank god." The boy looked into the eyes of his savior. "You're going to be alright."_

 _In that moment the boy thought 'this is hope'. And with that he was forever doomed to his fate. A fate of true despair._

 **(-)**

Emiya lurched out of bed. His brow coated in a cold sweat. _'A nightmare?'_ Yes that's all it was. As he reached up to wipe his forehead he noticed that his hands were chained together. "What is this?" not the best way to wake up. The last thing Emiya remembered was laying down on a bed in the barracks. Now he was in some dark, dank room with only a sliver of light pouring in through the windows. His armor and shroud were gone, leaving him in his black sleeveless shirt and black pants. Across the room he noticed the signature metal bars that signified he was in prison. "Just great."

Restraints of this level were no problem for him to escape from, but breaking out of jail is a general no-no, so he decided to play along for now. "Heh, you finally woke up."

Emiya quickly turned his attention to the voice. In the cell across from him was the same kid that he saw at the execution. He didn't know what his name was but he remembered the face. The kid who could turn into a Titan. "How long have I been out?"

"A little longer than me, roughly three days." the boy replied somberly.

Emiya chalked his tiredness up to traveling between worlds and prana exhaustion. He could already feel his reserves fully restored and waiting to be used. "What are you doing here? I thought that you were the one who sealed the hole in the wall? Shouldn't you be at some kind of victory party?" Emiya started, trying to strike up a conversation.

The boy looked down at his feet. "They don't trust me. And pretty soon they are going to decide my fate in court. Yours to probably."

Emiya scoffed. "I fail to see why either of us deserve to be on trial. The way I see it, we were the heros of the battle."

"They think we're too dangerous, and their right. About me at least. I don't know about you."

"What, did you do something wrong?" Emiya asked, his curiosity and rage building. He was beginning to regret trusting the old man.

"I don't know. I can't remember what happened after I initially transformed, but... with the way everyone is treating me, I can't help but feel like I did something wrong. "

Seeing as it was a tough subject Emiya decided to dance around it for now. "Emiya."

"Huh?"

"My name, it's Emiya. Your's?"

Liking the change in topic the boy gave a slight smile. "Eren, Eren Jaeger."

"Well Eren, if you so desire I can easily get the two of us out of here if you are afraid of facing execution." Emiya said as he crossed his legs and layed back down.

"Oh yeah? And how do you plan to do that with your hands tied?" Eren said as he gave Emiya a sarcastic look.

Emiya held out his hands.

" _Trace on."_

In the air above Emiya appeared a blade. Specifically it was the same type of anti-Titan blades that all of the soldiers used. "With this."

Eren just stared in confusion at the floating blade. _Where did it come from? How is it floating?_ These were the questions floating about in Eren's mind.

Emiya quickly cast the blade back into the Blade Works as he heard footsteps approaching. As the man walked into view, Emiya got a good look at him. He had short black hair that was cut shorter on the sides and back, and sported a light mustache and goatee. Again he wore a similar uniform to the rest of the soldiers Emiya had seen but the emblem on his was a unicorn. The man turned to face Emiya. "I see that you are awake now."

Emiya gave a slight chuckle. "Yes, now that we have established the obvious, can you explain to me why I am in prison?"

The man was slightly taken aback by Emiya's attitude. "C-Certainly. First, my name is Nile Dawk, and I am the commander of the Military Police Regiment. Your imprisonment , is merely a formality. Seeing as how you are a powerful fighter, we need to decide where your abilities would best be put to use. However, many were still wary of you given your strength. So, in order to calm the soldiers we had to 'capture' you."

Despite the way Nile put it, Emiya still wasn't pleased with the whole 'prisoner' setup. "Whatever, just hurry the process along. I would like to get my gear back soon."

Given Emiya's attitude, Nile felt that he was only putting up with being a prisoner. That if he wanted out he could very well escape as he is now. "My apologies, but you have to understand that your... weapons, wherever you seem to get them from, are on a whole different level than what we are capable of. Many are worried that you might just kill us on a whim." Nile hesitated to mention that his attitude was one of the reasons for that, as well as holding Woermann hostage.

Nile then turned to Eren, who was still reeling from seeing Emiya pull a blade out of thin air. "As for you cadet Jaeger. You will be put on trial where we will decide what to do with you." Nile said, a hint of disgust evident in his voice. He didn't trust the Titan shifter whatsoever.

As Nile left Emiya cursed under his breath. "Bastards." He then looked over to Eren who looked rather distraught. "Don't worry kid, you'll be fine."

"Oh yeah? How do you know?" Eren spat back at him, simply lashing out in anger.

"Because, you were the one who sealed the breach. That makes you one of the good guys and that's enough for me to want to help you. If you catch my drift."

Eren immediately understood what Emiya was implying. He would help him break out if things started looking bad. And he knew just how he would do it, the thought of which scared him. "How?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you do that?" Eren asked curiously.

Emiya gave a smirk. "Well seeing as how we're both stuck here for the time being and there's nothing else to do, I'll give you the short story. You ever hear of magic?"

"You're bullshitting me."

"No, I'm actually being quite serious. How would _you_ explain what I'm doing?" Emiya said as he traced another pair of the anti-Titan blades, keeping them suspended in air.

Eren racked his brain but couldn't come up with an answer. As much as he wanted to deny the phenomenon occurring right in front of his eyes, he couldn't. "So, magic. Huh, I thought it was just make believe."

"Well the practitioners of it like to keep it that way." Emiya stated as he cast away the blades again.

"But, if any of them were even capable of one-tenth of what you could do, we would be able to fight back against the Titan's!" Eren shouted ecstatically. "Why don't they reveal themselves so that they could help?"

"I see where your coming from. I'm not sure if you are aware, but I'm not from around here. All things considered I'm willing to bet that there are no magus among you."

"Magus?"

"It's the term for the practitioners of magic where I come from." Emiya stated as he lay down again.

"And where is that? Beyond the walls?" Eren's curiosity was peaked. He always wanted to see the world beyond the walls and here was someone who may very well be from there.

Emiya gave a light yawn. "Something like that." He still wasn't to keen on trying to explain the whole 'other worlds' concept.

"Do you think I could lear-"

"Doubtful." Emiya cut him off.

Eren gave a dejected look, but as he was about open his mouth, Emiya interrupted him again. "And no, I won't try teaching you. In fact I can't teach you because my magic is unique to me alone."

"Please, you have to try. We need to defeat the Titan's and with your magic we can do it."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Come on!"

"Absolutely,"

"I need to get stronger!"

"Not."

"Dammit Emiya! You have to do this!"

"The only thing I _have_ to do is kill Titan's."

"Please! I'll do whatever you say, give you whatever you want!"

"...Fine."

"Really?!"

"NO!"

"Don't screw with me, I'm being serious!"

"Ughh, by the Root you're annoying."

"What's the root?"

"None of your business, now drop the subject."

"Not until you agree."

"I said-" As Emiya sat up to yell at Eren, he saw the look in his eyes. It was that of determination. Eren had resolved to learn from him regardless of how long it took. It was the very same look Emiya gave his own father when he was young. "Hahh... I can't teach you magic, but maybe I can work help you in some other way."

Eren gave a disbelieving yet hopeful smile. "Really?"

"Don't get your hopes up kid. Even if I choose to teach you, that all depends on whether or not you can keep up with me. I'm not exactly the best teacher. And even then I can only teach you a handful of things. I'm sure fighting in your Titan form would be more effective then anything I teach you." Emiya already knew he was going to regret this.

"I don't care, I want every advantage I can get!"

Emiya sighed in response. If he was even half as annoying as this kid when he begged Kiritsugu to teach him, then his poor man must have nearly lost his mind. "So, you got any family?" Emiya said in hopes of changing the subject.

"An adopted sister, but that's it. My mom died when Wall Maria was breached and my father died shortly after." Eren replied somberly as he thought back to that fateful day, his anger soon flaring up to replace the sadness. "That day I swore that I would kill all the Titan's."

Emiya, noticing yet another touchy subject, decided to change topics. "Seeing as how I'm not from around here, would you mind explaining the history behind these walls?"

The duo spent the next half-hour was spent with Eren answering Emiya's various questions about the walls, history, military, and so on. They had begun to relax when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. This time four soldiers walked into the hall. Two of them were holding rifles and held back whilst the other two stepped forward. One of which Emiya recognized, the annoying goggles wearing girl. Although now she was wearing normal glasses. The other person was a tall, muscular man with short blonde hair and a faint beard and mustache.

The girl turned to face Emiya. "Hey there handsome, I didn't get to properly introduce myself last time. The names Hange Zoe. What's yours?"

"Great, you again..."

"That's an awfully strange name." Hange teased.

"Emiya." he then replied, figuring that complying would just make her leave sooner.

"Thank you. Now don't take this the wrong way, but would you mind if I ran a few-"

"Choose your next words carefully." Emiya interrupted her with a deadly serious tone.

"Boo, you're no fun." Hange pouted.

"So I'm often told." Emiya said with a sigh. Years spent killing tends to numb ones sense of joy or at least screw it up. He then proceeded to get up and walk to his cell door where Hange and the other man stood. "I take it your here to let me out?"

"You could say that, but would it kill you to be a bit more polite?" Hange questioned. Not that she couldn't deal with Emiya's abrasive personality, but she already has to put up with Levi's. The idea of dealing with a carbon copy of her fellow captain made her cringe.

"Quite possibly... now can you explain why this guy is trying to sniff me? It's rather rude." Emiya said as he glanced to Hange's companion.

"Oh, that's Miche Zacharius. He's my fellow captain in the Scout Regiment. Although he is rather quiet, he has a habit of sniffing people to get to know them."

"Hmm, you smell... weird. You don't smell like anything I've ever smelled before." Miche said curiously.

"I'm not sure how I should respond to that."

Miche then opened Emiya's cell door before proceeding over to Eren's to do the same. As well as give him a good sniff as well. All Emiya could do was hope the rest of the people he meets in this world aren't quite as eccentric as Hange and Miche.

As the group walked down the long halls, Hange gave a brief explanation of what was going to happen. First Eren would be put on trial and then Emiya. They finally reached a large pair of ornate wooden doors, no doubt leading to the courtroom. The two attending guards opened the doors and the group was greeted by quite a sight. A large elaborate multi-leveled courtroom with large arching windows against the back walls. The room was easily over-capacity, filled to the brim with guards, soldiers, and dignitaries alike. Emiya even noticed what looked like some religious types. The guards escorted Eren to a point in the floor where they had him kneel and then restrained him further. Hange and Miche held back and instructed Emiya to stay with them.

As Emiya glanced about the courtroom he recognized some of the audience members, even if he didn't know their names. Dot Pyxis and the shorty were among them. Up at the judges stand an elderly man with a large white beard took his seat in the center. "Who's the big shot?" Emiya whispered to Hange.

"Commander-in-chief Dhalis Zachary, he's in charge of all three divisions." Hange then gave a slight _gulp_. "He's also the one who will decide the fate of you and Eren."

For the majority of Eren's trial Emiya remained quite and listened intently, sizing up the people who were speaking as well as getting a feel for this worlds judiciary system. He was slightly irked when Nile Dawk recommended that they study and then dispose of Eren, but Emiya held his tongue. He didn't want to cause any unnecessary commotion that might reflect badly on him. After all, his trial would be next. Soon other people began to voice their own opinions. One of the religious looking guys said they should just outright execute Eren.

It was then that the commander-in-chief turned to ask the Scout Regiment what their proposition was. Emiya watched as a tall blonde haired man he remembered briefly seeing after the breach was sealed, stepped forward. "I, Erwin Smith, commander of the scout Regiment, would like to invite cadet Jaeger to join our ranks. And with his power we will take back Wall Maria." Erwin then went on to discuss the finer points of his plan to retake the wall, to which there was some dispute among those in the courtroom.

One man in particular, a pudgy well dressed man, openly voiced his opinion. He denounced the Scout's and suggested that humanity just seal all of the gates in order to stop the Titan's. Emiya was disgusted by his cowardice and was close to yelling at him, but someone else beat him to the punch.

"Why don't you just shut up you vile swine." said the diminutive man standing beside Erwin. He went on to talk down to the man in a very insulting way. Soon after, an argument broke out between the pudgy man and the religious nutcase. Pastor Nick, as he was referred to, was creating quite a ruckus and interrupting the court proceedings. And quite frankly Emiya had reached his limit.

"Are you done yet?"

The courtroom was hushed at that. Someone spoke, not yelled, but spoke. Although it was not loud everyone heard it, for the voice was filled with such contempt and disgust that one could almost reach out and touch it. The voice was directed at pastor Nick, and soon everyone's eyes followed it back to the source. It was the mysterious man that everyone knew as Emiya.

"Wh-What did you say?" the pastor replied.

Seeing as how he had at least his targets attention, Emiya continued. "A wall is a wall. It was built by man, not god. It is not some sort of holy relic, just a pile of brick and stone made for the purpose of sheltering those behind it."

"How dare you! Do you know wh-"

Emiya interrupted the pastor. "No, and I don't care. Now shut up, we're in the middle of a trial and you're being rude."

Nick was going to respond but simply clenched his fists in anger instead.

"Thank you for that." Zachary said to Emiya who gave a slight nod in return. "Now, as I was saying. Eren, you plan on joining the Scouts so you could put your Titan powers to good use, correct?"

"Yes sir!" Eren nodded fiercely.

"Well then perhaps you could explain this report to me." Zachary took out a piece of paper and began to read. "Cadet Jaeger, following his transformation, proceeded to attack cadet Ackerman."

Eren was stunned silent, unable to process what he heard. Emiya continued to listen and watch the unfolding conflict. According to Eren, he didn't remember what happened after he first transformed, but he was able to gain control and then block the breach with the boulder. _'Maybe he just needs to train some more in order to control his power properly.'_ Emiya thought, as that is the same case with magic. Emiya was then refocused when he heard Nile speak again.

"We also have a report that when Eren and Mikasa were 9, they stabbed to death three adult robbers."

Emiya was not one to be swayed in his opinion of people easily and given his first impression of Eren he knew that there was more to this story than what Nile was telling. However the crowd wasn't as understanding and were beginning to cause an uproar. But once they started to point fingers at Mikasa, saying she was a Titan too, Eren finally snapped back. He defended his sister with all his might and cursed those who would say otherwise. Soon his voice became a roar as his anger flared and all in the courtroom could hear him. "JUST SHUT UP AND COUNT ON ME!"

The entire room went silent and Eren knew he screwed up.

"At the ready." Nile said to a rifleman.

Emiya was about to intervene, but someone beat him to the punch, or rather kick. The short man beside Erwin dashed over and kicked Eren in the head, knocking out one of his teeth in the process. The short man then proceeded to wail on Eren some more. Emiya would have stopped him, but he realized that as long as shorty was there, no one would take the shot. The man then stomped down on Eren's head. "This is just my humble opinion... but I believe pain is the most effective form of discipline."

Emiya gave a slight smirk at that, he wasn't wrong. He then looked over to see that the rest of the Scouts were completely still, nonreactive to the whole beating. "Hmm, so that's what their playing at." Emiya listened to Levi's -as one person called him- speech as he went on about him being the only one who could kill Eren if necessary. To which his commander, Erwin, affirmed. After Erwin himself gave a few closing statements, Zachary had come to a conclusion.

"It's decided then. Eren Jaeger is to join the Scout Regiment. However... he will only remain there if he manages to remain in control of his powers."

Eren gave a slight smile at that before being released from his restraints and led to switch places with Emiya.

"Next case. The case of the mysterious warrior Emiya." Zachary read from his stack of papers. Emiya was brought to the same spot as Eren, but when someone attempted to restrain him in the same way he refused to kneel.

"If you even attempt to restrain me further I'll break your arms."

The guard backed off with an 'eep' and Zachary waved off the guards who were drawing guns. "That won't be necessary. Now..." He shifted his gaze to Emiya. "For the record, state your name."

"Emiya." he replied politely.

"Just Emiya?" To which Emiya nodded.

"Where are you from?"

"...Beyond the walls." The crowd began to murmur loudly, but Dhalis ignored them.

"Would you care to elaborate?"

Emiya put on his best poker face possible, which wasn't too hard. If he was going to hide the whole 'I'm from a different world' thing, then he was going to need to make his bluff as convincing as possible. "I come from a war torn land. A land that is already past the point of destruction."

"Does it have a name?"

Emiya put on a somber look. "Not anymore."

"My condolences. Now, why did you come here?"

"I have nothing to return to from where I came. I was wandering the battlefield when I was approached by a man known only as the 'observer'. He told me I could start a new life in your lands."

"Hmm, I take it that you are a soldier?"

"Of sorts. I'm sure that you have read the reports of my many feats in the defense of the Trost district. And as such you can probably tell that I'm not your average soldier." Emiya stated, giving a slight grin.

"Yes, I have read the reports, and quite frankly I don't believe them." Zachary gave a doubtful look.

"Believe it or not it's true."

"You're saying you can just... create explosive swords out of thin air, as well as perform amazing acrobatic maneuvers without the aid of ODM gear?" By now the quiet crowd was starting to give way to scattered chuckles.

"Would you like me to show you?" Emiya asked, already reinforcing his body to break free from his shackles.

"If you don't mind, but if you try anything funny I will have you shot." Zachary gave a glance to the guards who, getting his message, aimed their guns at Emiya.

"Very well." Emiya agreed. Zachary then gestured for a guard to unlock Emiya's shackles but Emiya just broke free on his own. "Saved you a step." he said with a chuckle.

Emiya quickly went through the Blade Works trying to pick out a good weapon to show-off, one that would get the point across, and he found it. Emiya reinforced his body and held his right hand upwards as if he were grasping at the sky.

" _Trace on."_

Light began to collect in his hand. In quickly formed into a large oddly shaped blade. As the process finished the blade was finally fully formed, everyone present let out a gasp. In Emiya's hand was a weapon, at least that's what everyone thought it was. It was huge, more like a weapon for a Titan than a human. It was almost twice the size of an adult male and the blade was roughly 2 feet in width. It looked to be made of stone and had a sharp jagged edge to it.

It was a blade Emiya knew well, the same one wielded by the legendary hero Heracles. Emiya swung it down and slammed it into the floor, the very force of doing so shook the entire courtroom. Some people ran in fear while others fell down pissing themselves. A few managed to remain standing, speechless but standing. Mostly it was the captains and commanders, but even they had a cold sweat forming on their brows. Even Levi himself gave a brief, albeit noticeable reaction.

"Not that it really concerns you to know... but this blade once belonged to a legendary hero who was the spawn of a human and a god." Everyone remained silent at Emiya's statement, to which he took the opportunity to show-off some more.

" _I am the bone of my sword."_

Suddenly roughly a dozen swords of varying types appeared in the air, all aimed downward around Emiya. This only shocked the crowd more. "This is not even a fraction of the weapons in my possession, and these are just normal swords that don't have any special effects whatsoever."

" _Trace on."_

The giant sword in Emiya's right hand disappeared and was replaced by an arrow with a twisted shape. "This is what I used to shoot off the Armored Titan's arm and caused the huge explosion."

The courtroom was so deathly quite that you could hear a pin drop. Here was a man that brought out and was handling a WMD like it was nothing.

Emiya, reading the mood of the room, quickly banished his blades back to where they came from. After doing so he simply stood quietly with his arms crossed behind his back, waiting for Zachary to regain his composure. It took roughly one and a half minuets.

"I...see... I'm sorry, but... how did you do that?" Zachary said as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, trying to stall the headache forming in his mind.

"Magic."

"..." The entire courtroom gave Emiya an incredulous look. "Are you serious?"

Emiya turned to see captain Levi glaring at him. "Believe it or not I'm telling the truth. Or can you somehow explain what I just did?"

Levi opened his mouth to say something but closed it before he did. He held his hand to his chin as he began to think. As he did, Emiya gave a slight smirk at being able to confound the midget. From what he understood, Levi was some kind of big-shot soldier.

"So, you are some sort of magician?" Zachary asked.

"The proper term for me is magus, but I suppose we can go with your term to simplify things." Emiya said, correcting the commander-in-chief.

"He is a heretic!" someone called out. "No one but the Gods themselves should hold such power!"

Emiya glared daggers at the man who shouted that. "Hold your tongue you fool. For as long as man has thought for themselves, they have feared what they don't understand. They try to claim mysterious happenings as 'acts of god' and refuse to acknowledge what is right in front of them. And those who embrace such things are branded as heretics." Emiya then turned to face Zachary again. "I am in control of this power! It is mine and mine alone! With it I will slaughter all those who oppose humanity! I wish to join the Scout Regiment and fight the enemy!" Emiya shouted, his voice booming throughout the courtroom.

Zachary let out a small sigh as he began to think. He then turned to Erwin. "Would you have this man join your ranks?"

"He would be a great asset to us sir." Erwin replied immediately.

"Very well, Emiya, as of today you are officially a member of the Scout Regiment. Commander Smith will be in charge of you. Obey his every order and we shouldn't have any problems. Understood?"

Emiya smiled and mimicked the salute he saw the soldiers use. "Yes sir."

 **A/N- God I hated having to write the court scene. I could have skipped it but I felt it was important. Might update this later. So, am I going to have Eren learn magic, or is this just a way for me to establish another plot point? Only I know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Well here we are, chapter 3. It's been a while, at least by my standards. I blame Battlefield 1 and the few other projects I'm working on. This chapter isn't as long as the other two, but there will be more to come. I have decided to have this story last until at least where the anime ended and then possibly continue it at a later point. And for the record, the Title is supposed to be 'Fate/Titan' but for whatever reason FF won't let me put / in the title. Remember to R &R.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING**

 _Chapter 3- Levi Squad_

As the trial concluded, a certain ethereal being began to clap its non-existent hands.

" **Aha, ha, ha, I knew I chose the right man for the job."** the observer stated as it watched the scene unfold from above the courtroom. As its name implied, the observer had observed the entire proceedings, in fact it had spent the majority of its 'time' observing Emiya. Time was irrelevant to the observer so even if it missed something it could just go back and rewatch it.

" **You are turning out to be quite interesting. Congratulations Emiya, you have re-sparked my interest in humanity."** the observer gave a formless smirk at that. **"Well, in you particularly. I can't wait to see how you react to the coming events, especially 'that'. I could just move forward in time to take a peek, but that would spoil the surprise."**

 **(-)**

After the trial had ended, Eren and Emiya were escorted to a separate room by members of the Scout Regiment. Emiya was leaning up against a wall, waiting for his gear to be retrieved, whilst Eren had his wounds attended to. In making the whole scene as convincing as possible Levi didn't really hold back in his strikes.

"Sorry about that." Erwin said to Eren who was wiping the blood from his face. "You did speak your mind in front of everyone, quite fervently I might add. Such a reaction was only expected. However that gave us the perfect opportunity to play the ace up our sleeve. The pain your in right now was neccesarry to achieve our goal, and for that you have my respect." Erwin continued as he held his hand out to Eren. "I hope we can get along from now on."

Eren was hesitant, but reached his hand out to meet Erewin. "Yes sir." Eren said as he shook hands.

Suddenly, captain Levi plopped himself down on the couch right next to Eren. "Say, Eren..."

"Y-Yes?"

Levi turned his head slightly towards Eren. "Do you hate me for what I did?"

Half in fear and half in respect, Eren managed to give an appropriate response. "N-No... I understand the act you put up needed to be believable."

Emiya, who had remained quiet up until now, decided to voice his opinion. "Not exactly the most subtle way, but it worked nonetheless. Impressive." Emiya stated to no one in particular with his usual impassive tone of voice. However one person in particular took that as an insult.

"You got a problem?" growled the diminutive captain. Emiya gave him a glance and saw that he was scowling. Deciding not to add fuel to the fire, Emiya simply turned away.

"Not at all, I found it to be quite an effective performance."

Levi scoffed at the Emiya regardless.

"Even so, there are still some limits to how far you should take your act Levi!" stated captain Hange who brought out a small cloth. Inside it was a tooth. "Look, you knocked out one of his teeth."

"Tch, better a lost tooth than a date with the operating table." Levi replied.

Hange then kneeled down in front of Eren. "Hey, open up and let me see how bad it is."

Eren complied and opened his mouth wide. Hange look of curiosity was quickly replaced with one of confusion. "Your tooth... it grew back." The room went silent at that.

Shortly after, Miche arrived, carrying in his arms Emiya's equipment. Emiya thanked the man as he handed his armor over to him. As Emiya began the process of putting his gear back on, Erwin spoke to him.

"I still am not entirely sure about your 'magic,' but the Scout Regiment will take all the help it can get. For that I thank you."

Emiya gave a wry smile. "No need to thank me just yet, my work has only just begun. If anything, you could tell me what my position will be in regards to your regiment."

"Ah yes, for now I will have you folded into the Special Operations Squad." Emiya's ears perked at this. Special Operations Squad? He only just joined and already he was being put with the specialists? "That being said, your commanding officer will be Levi." Emiya's mouth curled into a frown. He was going to have to follow _his_ orders?

Levi, noticing the look on Emiya's face, interrupted his thoughts. "I'm not too thrilled about the whole idea either."

Emiya was about to counter, but Erwin decided to stop things before they got out of hand. "Levi, I expect you and your squad to both, watch over Eren and intruct Emiya on the use of the ODM gear. He'll need it if he wants to keep up with us."

Emiya was tempted to correct Erwin, he could easily keep up with ODM gear speeds on foot, but decided it wouldn't hurt to learn how to use it. That way he wouldn't have to waste prana on body reinforcement.

"Very well sir." Levi complied.

Just when things seemed to reach their end, Hange spoke up. "Oh, oh, Emiya!"

"Ugh, what?" Emiya sighed in disdain.

Hange pouted with her hands on her hips. "Don't be like that. I just wanted to ask you a question."

Emiya rubbed the bridge of his nose, expecting another offer of being some sort of test subject.

"What would you like to name the captured Titan?"

This caught Emiya off-guard. Of all the questions he expected, this was not one of them. "Beg pardon?"

"What would you like the name of the captured Titan to be?"

Emiya gave Hange an incredulous look. "Is it really that important?"

"OF COURSE IT IS!" Hange's voice boomed. "It is important on so many levels! Not to mention I held off on naming it myself so that I may let you have the honor seeing as how you captured it single handedly after all. So... what's it going to be?"

Emiya, deciding to humor Hange, gave it some thought. Seeing as how this Titan would no doubt be put through excrutiating tests and experiments, he wanted to name it after someone who had been a bane to his existence. "Gilgamesh."

 **(-)**

Three figures were huddled together in an alleyway, whispering in hushed tones.

"So what the hell do we do now?!" one of the figures asked. He was quite obviously losing his cool at the developing situation as one could tell from his 'whispering' and the sweat running down his brow.

"Nothing changes, we have to retrieve Eren at all costs and our best chance to do so is during the next expedition." said another figure, this one more calm.

"I'm not sure if you recall, but that 'Emiya' fellow blew off your arm with an arrow like it was nothing." the last figure replied snarkily.

"I haven't forgotten..." the man said as he grabbed his shoulder, remembering the pain of having it severed.

"Yeah, and what about that explosion? We all saw that, and he can summon weapons out of thin air. This is getting way to risky." the panicked figure stated.

"Calm down man, you don't see Annie freaking out do you?"

"He's right, we have a job to do and we don't have the luxury of hesitation. We'll just have to work around Emiya somehow."

"D-Dammit..."

The man let his friend calm down before he began again. "On a related topic, one of us is going to have to sneak into the Scout Regiment HQ and kill that captured Titan. Any volunteers?"

 **(-)**

Currently Emiya and Eren were being led via horseback to the former Scout Regiment HQ by the Special Operations Squad, aka Levi Squad, led by Levi himself. Right now a rather boasturous man was talking Eren's ear off in a speech manner similar to his captain. Emiya half listened to the man's ramblings.

Emiya was at the back of their formation, doing his best to remain balanced as his horse made its way down the poorly made road. "Too bad I'm not the Rider class." he whispered under his breath. He then gave a quick glance behind him to the man bringing up the rear. The man had long blonde hair that was tied back in a bun and parted in the middle at the front. He also had a faint beard growing on his face. Introductions were short and simple but Emiya remebered the name of each person he had been introduced to. This man in particular was Eld Gin. To Emiya's right was another man. He had brown hair that came to a point at the back of his head and had slightly darker skin than the rest of the group. His name was Gunther Schultz. Directly in front of Emiya was Levi and beside him was a woman that was nearly as short as him. She had light-ginger hair that flowed down to her shoulders. The only woman of the group, her name was Petra Ral. Up front next to Eren, was Orou Bozad. He looked somewhat aged when compared to the rest of the group and had light brown hair that was styled in an undercut.

Emiya took stock of how each member carried themselves, these were the best of the best. He was however, shaken from his musings by a cry of pain elicited by Orou. Apparently the man had accidentally bitten his tongue whilst he was rambling on. That's what he gets for talking while riding horseback on a rocky road. Thankfully they were nearing their destination. Emiya could already make out the roof of the former HQ building through the trees. Upon arriving the group dismounted their horses at the old stables. Orou began tending to his wound whilst Petra scolded him.

"That's what you get for blabbering like an idiot." Petra said to the arrogant man.

"Hey, first impressions are the most important. I was just making sure the new guy knows where things stand between us." Orou said with a slight slur from his injury. "And did you see how scared he got when he saw me bite my tongue? Pathetic."

"I think he was just surprised at how much of an idiot you were. And stop talking like that. You keep trying to imitate the captain and it's just getting sad."

"And here I thought he was imitating the horse, given how much he flapped his lips." Emiya said off-handedly. This elicited a snicker from Petra and a glare from Orou.

"Why don't you make like a magician and dissapear." Orou growled.

Emiya simply shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, not even I can do that. However you seem to have made my respect for you disappear. So, congradulations."

"S-Shut up!" Orou barked back.

"Oh don't be a sore lose just because you don't have a good comeback. Besides, he's not the first person to lose respect for you." Petra said as she patted Orou's back in pity. "I guess it's a good thing that you didn't try your whole tough guy act on Emiya." she added.

Meanwhile, Eren listened on with a stern face. He was well aware of the fact that should he lose control of his Titan powers again, that they would be his executioners.

"Man, this place is a total wreck." said Gunther who was examining the buildings exterior. "It's probably even worse on the inside."

"Well then, I guess we have a lot of work to do." came Levi's voice. His squad was well aware of what he meant, but Eren and Emiya were left out of the loop.

"What do you mean?" Eren carefully asked.

"I mean that we are going to clean this place from top to bottom."

"You can't be serious. That'll take all day!"

Levi scowled at Eren's response. "I refuse to sleep anywhere that is unclean. You WILL clean the entire building."

Eren back down in fear, but then came a surprising response from another member of the group. "No problem." Emiya said as he cracked his knuckles. "I've dealt with worse."

"Wait a minuet. I bet you know magic that will clean this place up real quick, right?" Petra asked, her voice filled with hope. The rest of Levi Squad then adopted a look of prayer as the wished that Emiya had a faster way to clean the former HQ.

"Actually no I don't. All of my magic is combat focused. I clean the old fashioned way, just like everyone else. I'm just used to it."

At his utterance Petra and the rest of the squad slumped over in despair.

 **(-)**

The group was split into pairs and then assigned different sections of the castle to clean. Eren was paired with Levi, Emiya with Petra, Eld with Gunther, and Oruo, being as insufferable as he was, was on his own.

Currently, Emiya and Petra were in the process of cleaning the second floor bedrooms on the west side. Or rather one of them was. Petra couldn't help but stare in shock at seeing how quickly Emiya worked. And he wasn't even being sloppy about it, he made sure everywhere he went was spotless. His cleaning skills rivaled captain Levi himself.

"So, I guess you weren't kidding when you said that you were used to cleaning. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of warrior?"

"That doesn't mean that I don't have a domestic side."

"I suppose so. It's just a little surreal with how effective you are."

"If it makes for a better understanding, I used to be something akin to a janitor when I was younger."

Petra dropped her broom at this. "No way. You, the man who single-handedly drove off the Armored Titan, used to be a janitor?"

"Something like that. I was more of a jack of all trades." Emiya said as he continued to sweep up debris into a dustpan.

"What do you mean?" Petra asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"I was also chef and a mechanic among other things."

"I'm not sure why, but that seems believable."

"Yeah, now are you going to help me clean or just stand there catching flies in your mouth?" Emiya lightly joked.

Petra, having been reminded of the task at hand, refocused at his remark. "Erm, yeah, sorry. It's just that I haven't seen anyone clean this well aside from Levi. We might actually be done in time for dinner." she said as she resumed sweeping.

"And when that time comes I'll be sure to cook us up a nice meal." Emiya said in response.

"I would love to see what magic you could do with military rations." Petra said sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised." Emiya said as he finished sweeping up the last of the dirt in the current room in record time. "Since we're done here, I suppose we should go find the good captain and see what he wants us to do next."

"Yeah, I think he's down the hall." Petra said as she led Emiya further into the building, passing several already cleaned rooms along the way. They stopped when they noticed Eren standing alone in one of the rooms. Although they could only see the side profile of his face they could tell he was deep in thought. "You seem upset." Petra said to Eren which startled him.

"Eh?"

"You wouldn't be the first, it's a pretty common occurrence."

"I'm not surprised." Emiya said. "He's got all the comfort of a porcupine." he joked.

Petra pouted slightly at this. "He may not be that much of a people person, but that doesn't mean he's all bad." Petra said as she thought back to when he was comforting a dying scout. "He knows how to act when it counts."

"I'm just surprised that given his attitude he actually follows orders." Eren said as he continued to try and understand the being that is captain Levi.

"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but it seems that in the past he was a lot more unruly. In fact I heard that before joining the Scouts, he used to be a well known thug in the capitals underground."

"I can see that being true." Emiya mused as he imagined Levi as a thug.

"Well anyway..." Petra started. "I don't know the specifics, but apparently commander Erwin dragged him to the Scouts kicking and screaming."

"The commander?!" Eren said in surprise.

"Hey." came Levi's voice from behind the group. They turned to see the captain wearing a rather fitting scowl on his face. "What's going on? You lazy bums taking a break?"

Petra quickly began sweeping the floor so as to appease her captain whilst Eren simply froze in fear.

Emiya on the other hand, had the nerve to talk back. "No, me and Petra finished our section so we were wondering what you would have us do next."

Levi narrowed his eyes at the white haired man. "Don't get smart with me, there's no way you can be done already. You must have done a half-assed job. Eren, go back upstairs and clean it again, Emiya, you and Petra clean this room while I check your work."

As Levi left Petra let out a sigh of relief whilst Eren sighed in defeat as he trudged back up the stairs to clean again. Emiya and Petra made short work of the current room they were in and were just finishing up when Levi returned.

"Well, I'll be damned. I honestly didn't think I would ever meet someone who lived up to my standards on the first try. It seems you're not completely useless outside of combat." Levi said with an ever so slight smirk.

"I'll chose to take that as a complement."

 **(-)**

After several hours of hard work the castle was clean, and just in time for dinner. The group gathered in the dining room, a large cafeteria styled room were the food was prepared behind a counter and then eaten at nearby tables. However for Levi Squad, instead of 'freshly' prepared food, they had to settle for pre-made rations.

"You would think they would feed us better considering how dangerous our job is, but they just give us all this dried out crap." Orou grumbled as he pulled out the same ration pack that everyone else had. It consisted of half of a potato, some mixed vegetables, and some salt and pepper. They were also given tea leaves for making a drink and Levi, being a captain, was given a small chunk of dried beef.

"Quit your whining Oruo, you don't see the captain complaining." Eld scolded his comrade.

"This is what you eat?" Emiya asked.

"You get used to it after a few months." Gunther answered as he handed Emiya his share of the rations.

"Well, if you guys are willing to wait a little while, I can whip up something good with this."

Suddenly everyone gave a look that was half skeptical and half hopeful, save for Levi who was all skeptical.

"However I'm going to need everyone's rations for this, including Levi's."

The entire squad quickly turned to Levi with a look of hope. They were internally praying that he would comply. If Emiya truly was a magician then he should be able to make something amazing out of what they had. Petra was already aware of Emiya's claim to be a former chef but the rest of the group wasn't so it would be a welcome surprise for them.

Levi let out a long sigh. "How long will it take?"

Emiya then let a smirk creep across his face. He was going to enjoy Levi's reaction when he was finished. "Only as long as it takes for me to get the water boiling."

 **(-)**

The group waited for the better part of an hour as Emiya worked his magic. His hands moved like lightning as he chopped up the various ingredients before adding them to a large pot that was suspended over a roaring fire. As the aromatic sent wafted out of the pot, the squad-mates began to drool in anticipation. During the wait they had been holding a conversation about the upcoming expedition as well as Eren's Titan ability, which Emiya listened to intently, but now they were all silently waiting for dinner to be ready.

"Alright, it's done." Emiya said as he began pouring out servings into bowls. Much to everybody's surprise, Emiya had made a stew. It may have been piping hot, but nobody was willing to wait for it to cool down before eating.

"Amazing!" said Eld.

"This is incredible!" remarked Gunther.

"Mmm, so good!" Petra praised.

"Gah! I burnt my tongue!" cried Oruo.

"I know a certain cadet who would love to meet you Emiya." Eren said as he thought of Sasha.

Emiya smiled at the various reactions, but he was waiting for one in particular.

Levi raised a spoonful of stew to his mouth, blew on it, and then chomped down on it. His squad, who were eating like there was no tomorrow, had now stopped so they could hear their captains appraisal. "Hmm, this is quite good."

"Umm, thanks?" Emiya said as he scratched the side of his head. He then took note of how the rest of the Special Operations Squad members had their jaws dropped. He quickly picked up on how that must have been an amazing compliment coming from Levi. Everyone quickly returned to eating, but they were interrupted when the dining hall door swung open.

"Hello~ Levi Squad! Enjoying the castle life?" came the excited voice of Hange Zoe.

"Great, it's the annoying one." Emiya cursed softly.

"It would seem so." Levi added.

Hange began sniffing at the air as she got closer. "What smells so good?"

"That would be our dinner that Emiya made, and no you can't have any." Levi answered.

Hange took on a look of over-exaggerated despair as she fell to the ground on her knees. "Please! It smells so good." she said as she clasped her hands together in prayer.

"No!" Levi said sternly. "We used all of our rations to make this so only we are allowed to eat it."

Hange then crawled over to Emiya and gave her the best puppy dog face she could muster. Emiya, taking pity on the woman, decided to let her have some of his share. He quickly poured her a bowl and handed it to her. "Here, but I better not hear you ask me to be a test subject, EVER."

Hange nodded fervently. "Of course!"

For some reason Emiya felt that she would not keep that promise.

After everyone finished their meals, they sat down for some tea. As soon as Emiya's job was finished he quickly made for his room so as to avoid extended exposure to Hange. Eren on the other hand, found himself unfortunate enough to spend the entire night with her.

 **A/N- before I go I have a word of inspiration for you all. If you truly don't like my x-over then I am okay with that. I saw that there was a lack of Fate and AOT/SNK x-overs so instead of waiting around I decided to write my own. I'm sure that if you try then you can write one too and maybe it will be even better than mine. Don't wait for change to happen, make it happen yourself. Or something like that.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- Not much to say this time. Was tired when writing this so there may be some mistakes. If it's anything major I will update later. Smaller things like typos evade my attetion. Hope you like this chapter. Remember to R &R.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 _Chapter 4- New Developements_

"WHAAAAAAAATTTTTT!"

Emiya woke at the crack of dawn to the sound of screaming. Thinking that there was an attack of some sort, he lurched out of bed and rushed to the source of the screaming. It appears that he wasn't the only one who had reached that conclusion as he soon caught up to the members of Levi Squad who were also rushing to the source of the scream. From the looks of it, they too had been stirred awake by the scream as noted by their hastily thrown on clothes and messy hair. He blew past them with his superior speed as he reinforced his legs. It wasn't long before he reached the source with Kanshou and Bakuya already traced and in hands. But his fears of an attack were slightly lessened when he saw Hange slumped over in despair in the dining hall.

"What do you mean my precious Gilgamesh is dead?!"

Emiya felt like face palming at the situation. The captured Titan was dead? So what? He could easily capture another one for her. But no, she had to turn this into a whole ordeal. Emiya cast aside his traced swords as he heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming from behind him. Levi Squad was finally catching up.

"What happened?!" Eld asked.

Emiya gave an incredulous sigh. "False alarm."

"Really?" Petra whined as she started to fix her hair.

"That's not entirely accurate." came Levi's voice from the open door on the opposite side of the hall. Apparently he had already woken up before everyone else and was currently waiting on them. "Mount your horses, we need to get going."

The ride back to the main Scout Regiment HQ was for the most part silent. Everyone was tense and were urging their horses forward as fast as they could. None more so the Hange who was leadingt the group. They arrived back at HQ in record time, just in time to see the last of the Titan's body decomposing. Hange was distraught and crying over the whole situation as she watched 'Gilgamesh' slowly dissolve away.

"You gotta be kidding me... was this a soldiers doing?" someone murmured.

"No one knows. All that we know was that the culprit killed it just before dawn and by the time the guards noticed they had already gotten away with their ODM gear." someone else answered.

"Geez, look at Hange. She's totally losing it."

Emiya's eyes narrowed as he looked on at Hange's reaction. Had she formed some sort of special bond with the Titan in the short time since it's capture? Or was it all that lost potential for learning from it? Either way it mattered not. He could easily capture another one for her and that would likely shut her up. But despite this, Emiya quickly discerned the underlying meaning behind this act. The Titan was a valuable research specimen and someone had killed it, but why? Emiya was shaken from his musing when a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned to see commander Erwin standing behind him.

"Emiya, who do you think the enemy is?"

Emiya was initially confused by what Erwin asked, but then he picked up on what he meant. "You suspect a traitor?" he whispered.

Erwin's face remained stern. "Follow me." he said as he made his way through the crowd. Emiya followed close behind. They made their way into the HQ and Emiya was being led to what he presumed was a secure location. They arrived in a small room that Emiya believed to be Erwin's office.

"Emiya I-"

"You want to know if I can find the culprit." Emiya cut Erwin off and answered his question before he could ask it. Erwin was slightly taken aback by how up-front Emiya was. "You don't truly suspect me because I was the one who captured the Titan in the first place. And if I wanted I could easily capture another. Which means you want to know if I have any magic that would make it possible for me to discern who the traitor is. Am I correct so far?"

"Yes. Starting soon the MP Regiment will begin their investigation and I need to know if you are of any use to them."

"How will they be conducting the investigation?"

"A series of questions followed by gear inspection."

Emiya gave a slight smirk. "Then I will be of use."

"How so?"

"I can analyze their gear on a much more complex level than what you are capable of. Enough that I can notice even the most subtle of differences. And then there is the swords. If the Titan was killed by a weapon then I will know which one it was. I have a special connection with swords and can know their entire history from just a glance."

Erwin grinned. "Excellent. Now I just need you to get in on the investigation."

 **(-)**

The cadets were gathered in the hall and currently had their ODM gear and blades on display. The reason for the blades no one knew as they were all identical and replaceable. How could anyone discern who the culprit was from the swords?

Armin watched as the MP's went from person to person, asking questions and examining gear. Then he noticed him. Following close behind the MP's was the man known as Emiya. Armin was unsure as to why he was with them as he wasn't asking any questions. He just followed behind them silently as he touched the blades and ODM gear, muttering something as he did.

"I wonder who that is?"

Armin turned to his side to address his fellow cadet, Connie Springer. "Don't you remember? That's the guy who chased off the Armored Titan."

"What, for real? Shit, that guy is hardcore. What the hell is he doing here?"

"Probably watching over the investigation. I don't see him doing anything else besides giving everybody's ODM gear a quick touch." came a voice from Armin's other side. It belonged to Annie Leonhardt.

"I guess he's the muscle in this situation." Connie responded. "Although I don't see what the point is."

"Well, as it turns out he's some sort of magician or something. At least that what he said in court." Armin said to his fellow cadet. "Maybe he has magic that will allow him to find out who killed the Titan."

For a fraction of a second Annie tensed up at what Armin said, but no one noticed it. "Don't you think that sounds a little too good to be true? Besides, who will take the word of a self proclaimed 'mage' over any of us? If you ask me, we should cast our suspicions towards him." Annie said.

"Meh, you're probably right. So, did you guys hear anything else about him?" Connie asked.

"Apparently he is joining the Scout Regiment." Armin answered.

"Shit really? Man, the Scout's might just stand a chance with him on their side. Joining them doesn't seem like that much of a death sentence now. Maybe I will join up with them. After all, today's the day we have to make our decision."

"That doesn't mean he will be there to save you're ass if you get in trouble. He is only one man. But if you want to throw your life away then go ahead."

"I take it that means that you're still going to join the Military Police Regiment?" Armin asked.

"Of course," Annie replied. "I don't want to die. What about you Armin? Are you going to throw your life away and join the Scouts?"

"I will join the Scouts, but I don't plan on throwing my life away. I will fight till the bitter end if I must."

The group quieted up as the MP's got closer.

"State your name cadet!" the MP official demanded.

"Connie Springer!" Connie remained as still as possible in the presence of the interrogator. He was nervous as hell despite being innocent. MP's had a way of doing that to people. They were the best of the best and if you committed a crime it would be them who hauled your ass in. But, rather than being solely afraid of the investigators, he was also nervous because of the piercing gaze he recieved courtesy of the red clad man standing next to them. He was so distracted by the man's steel grey eyes that he almost failed to answer the MP's questions. As soon as the questions and gear examination was finished they moved on, but not before Emiya gave a light touch to both Connie's gear and blades. Connie could almost faintly hear Emiya whisper something as he did.

 **(-)**

"Analyze," Emiya whispered as he touched the ODM gear. They had been at this for about an hour and he had yet to find any substantial difference in the ODM gear wear of any of the cadets. What's more even the blades were useless. He should have realised that, being disposable, the culprit could easily replace their blades and no one would be the wiser. This whole investigation was turning out to be a big waste of time for Emiya. "Analyze," he whispered again, only this time he noticed a difference in the ODM gear. This particular gears wires had been worn down slightly more than the rest he had examined. Emiya looked up briefly to see who it belonged to. It was a girl, blonde hair tied back in a bun and a tuft of hair hanging over her face on one side. Emiya made a mental note of her name, Annie Leonhardt. Although the difference was only minute, it was still less than that of everyone elses. The rest of the investigation went off without a hitch and soon after Emiya found himself approached by commander Erwin. He then gestured for Emiya to follow as he led him back to his office.

"So, did you find anything?" he asked quietly.

"Yes. The one known as Annie Leonhardt, her gear was recently used as per the strain on the wires. But I fear that it is so small of an amount that the MP's will just pass it off as a neglidgable difference. The blades were useless as well. Also I don't think that they would have taken my word over theirs in this investigation, but I have a feeling that you already took that into account."

"Yes, all I wanted to know was who you thought the culprit was. And now that we know, we can keep an eye on them." Erwin said as he pulled out the files he had on the cadets and searched for Annie's file. "I thank you for your help in this investigation. Now I believe you have some training to do with Levi and his squad."

Emiya grimaced slightly at the thought of having to follow Levi's orders, but his face returned to that of a neutral look after a moment. "As you might I find him?" Just then the door to the office opened up revealing Levi and company.

"Right here." Levi said with a scowl. "Now come on, I haven't got all day to teach you." Levi said as he walked down the hall, his squad plus Eren following. Emiya quickly made pace with the group as they headed back outside.

 **(-)**

After a short horse ride Emiya found himself at a training grounds of some sort. It was built on a rocky outcropping nearby a large forest. There were several building and towers in the area as well as various pieces of training equipment that was used for the ODM gear. As the group dismounted their horses, Emiya found himself approached by Levi.

"Alright, first things first. I want to see what you are truly capable of." Levi said to Emiya. The rest of the day was going to be spent with Levi teaching Emiya how to use ODM gear while his squad watched Eren, but it seems that Levi had something else in mind.

"...And by that you mean?" Emiya asked with mock confusion.

"Cut the crap, I know you are hiding your true strength. What you did at the courtroom may have been a show of power, but the way you acted made it seem like it was a mere parlor trick." Levi's eyes narrowed as the scowl on his face became more prominent.

Emiya smirked slightly at this, he was smarter than he looked. "You're right, I was holding back my most powerful magic. I have not even shown you one-percent of my arsenal nor have I shown you my trump card."

"That being?"

"Oh, did you want me to show you? Sorry, but that is one thing that I will keep to myself. Maybe one day, if the need for it arises, you will be able to witness it."

The scowl on Levi's face worsened. Emiya was getting on his last nerves. "Fine, if you're going to be petty about this then I'll let it go for now. Eld!"

"Yes sir!" the man replied instantly.

"You're in charge of Eren. I want you guys to do some training maneuvers, see what the kid is capable of. Once I get this guy up to speed then we'll join you."

"As you wish sir. Alright Eren, let's see if you can keep up with the big boys." Eld said as he placed his hand on Eren's shoulder. Eren stiffened at this.

"Don't worry Eren," Petra said in a comforting tone. "So long as you don't give us a reason to, we won't have to harm you. So just relax."

As the rest of Levi squad left, Emiya found himself alone with Levi.

"So, let's get started."

 **(-)**

After a few moments of fumbling around with the straps, Emiya found himself equipped with a set of ODM gear.

"We don't have time for the kiddie stuff so I'm just gonna give you the crash course and hope that you can keep up."

Emiya gave Levi a slight smirk. "Oh don't worry, I'm sure I'll surprise you."

"Tch, cocky bastard. Here is how you work the ODM gear. Use the handles and aim the anchor's and then pull this trigger to fire." Levi said as he aimed at a nearby tree. As he pulled the trigger two anchors attached to wire's shot out and stuck in the tree. "Now you."

Emiya didn't need to be told twice, in fact he didn't even need to be told once. Emiya analyzed the inner workings of the ODM gear and instantly knew how to operate it. He immediately launched the anchors at the tree that Levi was pointing to.

"Good, now to reel in-" before Levi could finish, Emiya was already flying towards the tree. As he flew he deployed the anchors again to another pair of trees and began to swing through the air with ease. He was a natural. Emiya swung from tree to tree with skill and precision, much to Levi's surprise. After a few more manuveres he landed back down next to Levi sporting a cocky smile.

"So, what's next?"

"Don't get too full of yourself, plenty of people can get lucky on their first try." Levi said to Emiya with his trademark glare, but on the inside he was quite impressed. It was his first time using ODM gear and yet he displayed masterful use of it. "Seeing as how you have the basics nailed down for some reason, why don't we go join my squad. See if you can keep up." Levi said as he engaged his ODM gear and flew into the forest. Emiya then followed him.

The two flew through the forest as with masterful skill. If an onlooker had been told that this was Emiya's first time using ODM gear, they would have called bullshit considering he was able to keep up with Levi.

After about a minuet of swinging from the trees Levi and Emiya arrived at a small clearing surrounded by trees that had target dummies set up. They landed on the ground and observed as the rest of the squad was flying about the treetops and swinging down to slash at the targets.

Eld, noticing their audience, landed down next to Levi. "Is there something wrong sir? We only just started practicing." he asked.

"Nothing's wrong, it just turns out that Emiya is a natural at ODM gear use."

Eld raised an eyebrow at this. "Seriously?"

Emiya then aimed his ODM gear and fired at a nearby tree and took off, swinging about and being able to keep up with the other members of Levi Squad who were surprised to see him. He then landed back down by Levi with the rest of the squad following close behind.

"Alright, so you can use the ODM gear. Now let's see if you can use the blades." Levi said as he glared at Emiya.

Emiya cocked his head to the side ever so slightly. "Is that a rhetorical question?"

"Just shut up and kill the dummies. Eren, you go first. Show the new guy how it's done." Levi said as he pointed to Eren.

"Y-Yes sir!" Eren replied nervously. He didn't want to disappoint Levi.

Eren quickly took off up into the trees. After gaining some height he then swooped down and swung his blades at the target dummy, taking a chunk out of its neck in the process. He then landed back by the group.

"Okay, that was... acceptable." Eren internally cursed at his performance. "Now you." Levi said as he gestured to Emiya.

Emiya aimed his ODM gear at the trees and deployed them. He took off much like Eren had and swung about for a few moment as he gained height. He then pressed the handles against the sheath and attached a pair of blades. As he fired his anchors at the target, he also reinforced his blades to make them stronger. He swooped downward and struck at the target with so much force that he sliced straight through the dummy and cut off its head in the process.

Levi's squad was visibly impressed by Emiya's feat, however Levi himself was less so.

"A bit of an overkill if you ask me." he stated as Emiya landed back down on the ground.

"Just making sure that it's dead." Emiya quipped.

"Yeah well, you're just lucky that your blades didn't break."

"Luck had nothing to do with it, I just reinforced them."

"Reinforced?" Gunther questioned.

"Yes, one of my magics is the ability to strengthen anything that I touch. It's quite handy for ensuring that blades don't break." Emiya answered.

"I guess that could be handy." Orou scoffed.

"So, I've shown you that I can fly and fight, anything else we need to do?" Emiya asked Levi.

"No, I believe that is all." Levi let out a slight sigh. "Well, seeing as how I finished my job early... why don't we take a break for now."

The squad was surprised by this. Normally Levi would say something like, 'more practice' or 'time to do some cleaning' but not ' let's take a break'. But rather than question his orders they simply took them at face value.

"Alright, we have about an hour before the ceremony where the cadets will choose which Regiment they want to be apart of. I expect you all to be there, so until then you may have some time off. Be sure to enjoy it." Levi said as he turned to walk away.

 **(-)**

Emiya was currently standing atop a building, admiring the view of the setting sun. He was told that the ceremony was going to be held at the nearby training field at sundown. He turned when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him and was greeted by Eren.

"I see you found me." Emiya greeted.

"Wasn't too hard, just had to look up." Eren said with a wry smile which quickly turned to a much more somber look.

"Something on your mind kid?"

"You could say that." Eren said as he scratched the back of his head, eyes glued to the ground.

"Listen, before you try to get deep with me just know that I'm not the best conversational partner. And I am the furthest thing from comforting." Emiya said as he sat down on the edge of the roof.

Eren took a seat next to Emiya. "How did you get so strong?"

Emiya let out a long sigh. "When you look at me what do you see?"

"I see strength, I see a hero. Someone who can save us from the Titan's."

"Wrong. I am no hero. I am the furthest thing from that. Let me tell you a story. When I was young I was saved from a fire, but I lost my memories in the process. The first thing I remember was the look on the face of my savior. He was... happy. And I wanted to feel the same happiness that he felt in that moment. He was the person I looked up to more than anyone else." Emiya paused for a moment as he recalled his father. "He and I shared similar ideals, to become a hero of justice. I wanted to save everyone, but life doesn't work like that. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Sacrifice one to save ten, let ten die so you can save a hundred, kill a hundred in order to save a thousand. That is the truth of what it means to be a hero. Save everyone? Pfft, I couldn't even save myself. So I will tell you right now, I'm no hero... I'm just a man with a sword."

"But you saved Trost!"

"Yes, but how many died before I arrived? Dozens, hundreds, thousands? I can't be everywhere at once, I can't save everyone. Someone always has to suffer, someone always has to be on the losing side of things. And that is why I gave up on my ideals."

"But... to spend so much of your life chasing your dream, only to throw it away. How can you do that?"

"This... dream, what if you woke up one day and realized that it wasn't what you thought it was? What happens when you find out you spent your whole life chasing down a lie? At that point it becomes ever so easy to give up."

"That may be true," Eren started as he stood up and stared down Emiya. "But you have what it takes to defeat the Titan threat. And to me, that's all that matters. I don't care if you can't save everyone, just save humanity as a whole." Eren then outstretched his hand towards the horizon. "Not everyone may be willing to admit it, but right now we are nothing more than cattle in a pen. Waiting for the Titan's to come and devour us all. That is the truth of the situation. Our days are numbered and unless we do something soon then we are all going to die." Eren clenched his fist. "I choose to fight. Every member of the Scout Regiment has chosen to fight. They know that they will most likely die, but they fight anyway. Why? Because someone has to." he turned his gaze back to Emiya. "So don't worry about us, we know what we're walking in to. Even if you can't save everyone, just killing Titan's and saving who you can is good enough for us."

Emiya narrowed his eyes at Eren. "Good enough huh... I suppose that will have to do."

 **(-)**

Emiya was currently standing off-stage with Levi squad waiting for commander Erwin to address the cadets. After a few moments he appeared from the other side of the stage and walked to the center; he then turned to face the cadets.

"I am the commander of the Scout Regiment, Erwin Smith." he started. "So let's cut to the chase. Today is the day you will choose your regiment and the scouts could really use you. After the recent Titan attack I'm sure you all experienced the threat they pose firsthand as well as your own limitations."

Emiya listened on intently as Erwin gave his speech.

"However, in the wake of this battle we have been delivered the keys to humanities victory. I of course refer to cadet Eren Jager and the mage known as Emiya. They have risked life and limb and proven their dedication to our cause. But that is not all. Cadet Jager has not only given us a way to fight the Titan's, he has also offered us a means to determine their origin."

The crowd was visually shocked and began murmuring among themselves.

"Our intelligence suggests that the cellar of cadet Jager's old home in Shiganshina holds valuable information on our enemy. We will form an expedition to find this secret ad use to break free of the oppressive rule of the Titan's, a rule that has lasted over a hundred years."

'What is he playing at, revealing such sensitive information?' Emiya thought to himself. Emiya then noticed how Erwin's eyes were scanning the crowd, almost as if they were searching for something or someone. Then he remembered, the traitor. 'He's trying to lure out the traitor among the cadets.' Emiya's thought then went to that of Annie, the only person whose gear was off.

"Before we can reach the aforementioned cellar, another problem must be taken care of. We must retake Wall Maria. It will be no easy task I assure you, but one that must be done in order to achieve our objective."

Just then, Petra and Miche walked out on to the stage and held up a map detailing the upcoming expedition plan.

"Now that the gate at Trost has been rendered inaccessible we will have to launch all future missions from the Kalaneth district. Effectively this means that all those years of hard work building a route from Trost have been made pointless. Four years, it took four years for us to build that route while we suffered a 60% casualty rate. 60%, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that is a horrifying figure."

A somber look befell some of the scouts on stage.

"One month from now we will conduct an expedition beyond the Wall's and I expect cadets from your year to join us. I expect a third of those who join to die. After four years most will be dead. I won't sugar coat it, this is a dangerous job. But those who survive will be the best of the best, true soldiers who will likely continue to survive from that point on."

A grim look took over the cadets.

"But that's not to say we won't stand a chance against the Titan's." Erwin then gestured for Emiya to come out on stage.

Emiya walked with a presence befitting someone of his stature as he made his way to Erwin's side.

"For those of you who don't know, this is Emiya. And he is the man who single handedly drove off the Armored Titan. I have seen his abilities firsthand and quite frankly am impressed. With him on our side we will stand a fighting chance against whatever the Titan's throw at us."

The crowd was awestruck by his presence which exuded power as well as his unusual appearance.

Erwin then returned his attention to the cadets. "Although I want you to join my regiment I also understand that it is tantamount to asking you to throw your lives away. For those of you who don't wish to join you may leave now. I won't stop you. That is all."

The cadet's began to look amongst themselves with unsurity.

"I think you may have scared them a bit too much commander." One of the scouts said to Erwin. "No one is going to want to join now."

And sure enough one by one cadets began to leave. First it was a steady trickle, then it became a flood, and finally only a couple dozen remained.

"I ask you... If you were ordered to die, would you do it?" Erwin asked the remaining cadets.

"We don't want to die sir!" one of the cadets shouted.

Erwin smiled. "Of course, let's hope you don't. To those of you who stayed, congratulations you are now officially one of us. Welcome to the Scout Regiment!" Erwin then gave a salute to the new scouts who in return saluted as well. "Each one of you who remains has my respect."

All the while Emiya simply looked on impassively at the soon to be likely dead soldiers. Then he saw her. Standing among the new recruits with a stern expression upon her face... was Annie Leonhardt.


End file.
